Name: Trinidadian roti (home recipe)
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Makes 6 dhalpuri rotis
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups split peas; 1/4 teaspoon turmeric; 2 garlic cloves; 1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin; 1/4 Scotch bonnet pepper; 1 teaspoon salt for the filling; 3 cups all-purpose flour; Pinch of instant yeast; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons baking powder; About 1 3/4 cups water; 5 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing

History

Doubles is a Trinidadian street food of curried chickpeas on two fried flatbreads, created in Princes Town in 1936 by Emamool Deen and his wife. Roti came to the Caribbean with indentured laborers from the Indian subcontinent, and the wrapped roti began in southern Trinidad in the mid-1940s. As Indo-Caribbean people moved to North American cities such as New York, they took the wrapped version with them, and Brooklyn's West Indian community is concentrated in Crown Heights, Flatbush and East Flatbush.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes 6 dhalpuri rotisHands-on 1 hrTotal 2 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

2 cups split peas
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
1/4 Scotch bonnet pepper
1 teaspoon salt for the filling
3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of instant yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
About 1 3/4 cups water
5 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing

Method

Rinse the split peas and boil them with the turmeric in 5 to 6 cups of water for 25 to 30 minutes, then drain and cool.
Mix the flour, salt, yeast and baking powder with water, start with 1 cup and add more, and knead to a firm, smooth dough. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
Grind the cooled peas with the garlic, cumin, pepper and salt in batches until no whole peas remain and the texture is like bread crumbs.
Divide the dough into 6 balls, flatten each to a 6 inch circle, put 4 tablespoons of filling in the center, and pinch closed.
Heat a tawa or heavy griddle on medium-high and brush with oil. Roll a stuffed ball to 12 to 14 inches and about 1/8 inch thick.
Cook about 30 seconds, flip, brush with oil, and flip again as needed for 4 to 6 minutes until it puffs. Wrap in a towel to keep it soft.
Fill with curry chicken, goat or chickpeas.

Tip from the editors. Grind the peas fine; whole peas tear the roti as it cooks. A cast-iron skillet works if you have no tawa.