TO MAKE THE BARA (BREAD)

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients, mix well.
2. Add water to form a sticky dough (this might be more than stated in the recipe).
3. Break the dough (bara) into smaller pieces about 2 tablespoons each.
4. The bara will be sticky and difficult to work with initially. Keep your hands dusted with tapioca starch or form the rounds on a surface that has been dusted with the tapioca.
5. Do not add more flour to the dough, it must be sticky. I also do not recommend working with oiled hands, the dough will absorb some of that oil affecting the quality of the cooked bara.
6. Set the bara rounds aside on a lightly oiled surface to rest for a while, 30 minutes or so.
7. Cover with oiled or non stick surface. For a better flavor and a softer bara, you can let the rounds slow rise in the refrigerator overnight.
8. When the dough is ready, prepare a pot with oil for deep frying, the oil must be hot before starting!
9. Before rolling out the bara, dust your hands and the work surface with tapioca starch.
10. Flatten a piece of bara with our fingers to 3-4” round. The bara is delicate but workable once your surface is properly dusted. Working on parchment paper or a silpat mat is a great help. In this case you will flatten the dough and when you are ready raise one edge of the pachment or silpat mat to flip the dough onto your hand.
11. Carefully place the bara into the hot oil. The bara will get air bubbles immediately as it hits the oil, when this happens flip the bara to the other side. The bara takes less than a minute to cook, bubbling and floating are sure signs that the bara is cooked.
12. Drain on a paper towel and move at once to a plate, bowl etc. lined with a tea towel (kitchen towel). Keep it wrapped and covered. In between each bara I use parchment paper to prevent the bara from sticking together. The stacking of the bara contributes to the floppiness we expect from doubles.
13. The bara is best served warm.

TO MAKE THE CHANA GRAVY

1. Heat oil in a saucepan
2. Add the onion and the garlic, saute on low heat for about a minute.
3. Add the chickpeas with enough water to cover.
4. Put the lid on the saucepan and on low heat, cook the chickpeas until it is soft enough to be crushed.
5. With a fork mash the chickpeas, you do not need all the chickpeas to be broken down.
6. Ensure that there is enough water so the chickpeas are somewhat like a thick gravy.
7. Add the curry, cumin, culantro, and masala. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Simmer for a few minutes. The gravy should be tasty.