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Karahi & handi

Kata Kat Recipe

کٹا کٹ بنانے کا طریقہ

Street-style kata kat at home: kidney, liver and brain chopped on a hot tawa with tomatoes, butter and green chillies until thick and spicy.
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Illustration of Kata Kat

Prep

20 min

Cook

30 min

Total

50 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Hot

Kata kat is named after the clatter of two steel spatulas chopping offal on a huge iron tawa, a sound you hear at night outside food stalls in Lahore and Karachi. Kidneys, liver and brain are cooked fast in butter and oil with tomato and chillies, and chopped as they cook so everything breaks down into a rich, rough masala. At home a heavy flat pan or wide karahi and a sturdy spatula do the same job. It is a favourite way to use the offal after Eid-ul-Adha.

Ingredients

4 servings

For 4 servings

Measures

To finish

Method

  1. Wash the kidneys, liver and heart well; cut the white core out of the kidneys. Simmer the brains in salted water with a pinch of turmeric until firm, then drain.

    ⏱ 5 min

  2. Heat the oil and half the butter on a tawa or wide karahi over high heat. Add the kidneys and heart first and fry, stirring, until they lose their raw colour and the water they release dries up.

    ⏱ 8 min

  3. Add the liver, onion and ginger-garlic paste and fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Liver toughens if overcooked, so it goes in after the kidneys.

    ⏱ 4 min

  4. Add the tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder, chilli flakes, turmeric, crushed coriander and cumin. Cook on high heat, chopping everything with the edge of a sturdy spatula as it softens.

    ⏱ 6 min

  5. Add the brains and the rest of the butter. Keep chopping and turning until the brains break into the masala, everything is in small rough pieces and the oil shines through.

    ⏱ 6 min

  6. Add the green chillies, ginger and garam masala and chop for one more minute. Turn off the heat, squeeze over the lemon, scatter the coriander and serve from the pan.

    ⏱ 1 min

Tips for the best result

  • Soak cut kidneys in water with a splash of vinegar for 15 minutes and rinse; it removes the strong smell.
  • Many stalls add testicles (kapooray) and sweetbreads too. Add them with the kidneys if you have them.
  • Keep the heat high throughout. Kata kat should fry, not stew.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the liver at the start. By the time the kidneys are done the liver is hard and grainy.
  • Salting the liver early. Salt draws out water and toughens it; add salt with the tomatoes.

How to serve

Serve hot with tandoori naan or roti, sliced onion and lemon wedges.

Storing and reheating

Best eaten fresh. Keeps 1 day in the fridge; reheat quickly on high heat with a little butter. Do not freeze cooked offal.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
475kcal
Protein
33g
Fat
33g
Carbs
12g
Fibre
2.4g
Sodium
800mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 28

Whole dish ≈ Rs 110 · 40% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Kata Kat: questions people ask

What is in kata kat?

Usually goat kidneys, liver, heart and brain, and at many stalls testicles as well, chopped and fried with tomato, chilli and butter. You can make it with just kidneys and liver.

Why is my kata kat chewy?

Either the liver was overcooked or the kidneys were cooked on low heat and stewed. Fry the kidneys hard first, add the liver for only a few minutes, and keep the heat high.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

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Read this recipe in Urdu: کٹا کٹ بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/kata-kat · Handi, DanixSoft