INDAR’S ROTI AND DOUBLES
Cuisine: Trinidad & Tobago
(152 Albion Road, Rexdale, M9V 1A8; 416.745.0009)
Hospitality runs in the family for the owners of Indar’s Roti and Doubles in Rexdale, Ontario. Founder Indar Rampersad’s sister is the proprietor behind Pamela’s Café, a popular eatery in Chaguanas, Trinidad, near Port of Spain. Look up at the ceiling at Indar’s and you might feel like you’re closer to Maracas Bay thanks to an airbrush mural in vibrant island colours. Or maybe it’s the bake and shark that’s on your table, served with all of the staple fixings. Listen to the sound system and you’ll hear the latest soca mix – sold at the cash, atop a cooler of currants rolls, kurma and barfi. Maybe you are on your way to Maracas, by way of Canada.
Rampersad established Indar’s in 2012 with a mission to serve the community with top-notch Trinidadian eats. “Light and fluffy” is the perfect way to describe the restaurant’s main seller, doubles. The sweet-and-spicy, channa-filled snacks have the perfect amount of chutney, are tightly wrapped and non-greasy. Also popular are the deep-fried Pholourie and the All Day Veggie Platter. “My mom makes all the food we sell, but if we had to choose specifically according to our customers, our veggie platters remind them of home,” Indar’s daughter, Anu, says. Generous spoonfuls of baigan choka, channa and aloo, pumpkin and bhagi fill white Styrofoam containers, with paper bags of freshly baked dhalpuri on the side.
The chicken roti is Indar’s most popular dish, notorious for its heaping chunks of meat – all halal – and filled with veggies of your choice, and a splash of scotch bonnet.
