Katakat

Ingredients

Offal

• 300 glamb kidney
• 300 glamb liver
• 200 glamb heart
• 200 glamb brain, optional
• juice of 2 lemons
• salt, for cleaning

The griddle

• 3onions, chopped
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 4cm ginger, grated
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 4green chillies, chopped
• 6 tablespoonsoil or ghee
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 2 teaspoonsground coriander
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonchilli powder
• 1 teaspoongaram masala
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• juice of 1 lemon
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• 2cm ginger, in fine strips
• green chillies, sliced

To serve

• naan or roti
• raw onion rings
• lemon wedges

Directions

1. Keep it cold right up to cooking. Kidney and heart take the longest. Cut the kidneys in half lengthways. Cut out the white core with scissors. Soak them in cold salted water. Give them a good thirty minutes. Rinse and dry them thoroughly. Preparing the liver takes care.
2. Rinse the liver in cold water. Peel off the thin outer membrane. Cut out any large tubes or gristle. Cut the liver into small pieces. Preparing the heart takes more work.
3. Cut the heart open lengthways. Cut out the tough white valves inside. Trim off the fat and sinew at the top. Rinse out any blood clots inside it. Cut the heart into small pieces. Soak the brain in a bowl of cold water. Peel away the thin outer membrane.
4. Rub all the offal with lemon and salt. Let it sit for fifteen minutes. Rinse it thoroughly in cold water. Pat everything completely dry. Cut the offal small before cooking. Use two sturdy spatulas on the pan. Chop and turn it over as it fries. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan. Get the oil genuinely very hot indeed.
5. Add the chopped onions to the hot oil. Fry them hard for about five minutes. Add the garlic and the ginger. Add the chopped green chillies. Fry them for a good two minutes. Add all of the ground spices to it.
6. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Add the kidney and heart first. Chop and turn them as they fry. Give them about six minutes on the pan. Chop and turn them into the mixture. Give them about three minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan.
7. Chop them in as they break down. Give the tomatoes about five minutes. Season it with salt and black pepper. Judging when it is done takes attention. Add it late and take it off in time. Finishing it is done at the end. Squeeze the lemon juice over the pan. Add the garam masala over the top.
8. Scatter the chopped coriander over it. Add the fine strips of fresh ginger. Add the sliced green chillies as well. Toss it all through the pan once. Serving it is done immediately. Tip it out onto a hot serving plate. Serve naan or roti bread alongside it. Serve raw onion rings with it. It must be eaten hot from the griddle. Cook it to order each and every time.

Technique

• The name is the sound of the cooking: two heavy cleavers work the griddle at once, chopping the offal as it fries and striking the metal in a fast rhythmic clatter that carries down the street and draws people in.
• Each offal cooks at a different rate, so they go on in order: kidney and heart first, then liver, then brain last, since overcooked liver goes hard and bitter and that is the main risk in the dish.
• Liver is extremely high in vitamin A, which builds up in the body and is harmful in excess; pregnant people are advised to avoid it and frequent eating is not advised for anyone.

Substitutions

• Any combination of lamb offal works, with kidney, liver and heart the usual base.
• Two sturdy spatulas in a heavy pan approximate the two-cleaver griddle method.

Variations

• Brain is included in many versions and left out in others.
• Some stalls add a little cream at the end for a richer result.
• The heat varies enormously from stall to stall.

History

Named for the clatter of two cleavers on the griddle; chopped offal fried to order, made famous by Karachi’s Burns Road stalls.

Frequently asked questions

What is Katakat?

Katakat is a street food from Pakistan: offal and spices chopped noisily on a flat hot griddle. Named for the clatter of two cleavers on the griddle; chopped offal fried to order, made famous by Karachi’s Burns Road stalls.

How long does Katakat take to make?

Katakat takes 40 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Katakat?

Yes, within limits. Any combination of lamb offal works, with kidney, liver and heart the usual base. Two sturdy spatulas in a heavy pan approximate the two-cleaver griddle method.

What is the most important thing to get right in Katakat?

Scatter the chopped coriander over it. Add the fine strips of fresh ginger. Add the sliced green chillies as well. Toss it all through the pan once. Serving it is done immediately. Tip it out onto a hot serving plate. Serve naan or roti bread alongside it. Serve raw onion rings with it. It must be eaten hot from the griddle. Cook it to order each and every time.