Trevally Katkat with Green Plantain -Katkat Karang

The Trevally Katkat is a hearty dish made with roughly mashed green plantain, trevally and coconut milk that we have inherited from the Malagasy slaves and has become a comfort dish of many Seychellois.

Katkat  is a  typical Seychellois Creole dish that is prepared with green or unripened cooking bananas or plantain, preferably the  bannann sen zak  which is the most sought after local plantain banana. Plantains are easily distinguishable from other bananas in that they are larger and heavier. One other  distinction is that they are usually harvested green and they ripen after a few days when they turn yellow. The flesh is somewhat firmer than other bananas and considerably less sweet when raw, which is why it is always cooked.

Traditionally, one would never chop a banana plant only to get the green plantain. This would be economically unwise. In most cases the green plantains are recovered from fallen banana plants, blown down by strong winds .This tends to happen quite frequently in the South East Monsoon when the wind is quite strong and erratic. If the green plantains are too young they do not ripen off the tree. The choices available are to cook them in katkat, make chips or feed them to the pigs!

The two types of katkat

There are two types of katkat prepared in the Seychelles. The katkat dou and  katkat sale. The recipe we are sharing to-day  is that of a  katkat sale which is the salted version and is served as  a meal in itself or at times served with boiled rice and fresh chilli sauce. It is made with coconut milk , fish, garlic, ginger, cinammon and seasoning. The katkat dou is a sweet version and is made with coconut milk, sugar and cinnamon powder and eaten as a dessert.   We will share the recipe of the katkat dou is a future post.

Origin of Katkat

The term katkat may be of Hindu origin which means ‘cut-cut’ as the banana in the katkat is usually roughly mashed or may even originate from the Pakistani city of Karachi, where a special meat dish called “kata-kat” made from offal is very popular. The meat is combined with various spices such as coriander, ginger, mint, chillis, and garam masala, along with tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

Interestingly, the culinary term katkat is also used in Mauritius but is a totally different dish. The Mauritian katkat , made with either cassava or breadfruit, is traditionally a meat dish  made with  combination of greens.

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Do not peel your plantain

When making the katkat the plantain is never peeled before boiling. The ends are usually cut off and the plantain is cut in two. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly,  the skin helps to maintain the consistency of the plantain  and assists in the retention of  most of its nutrients .

Secondly, green plantain is quite difficult to peel. It contains a sticky sap which can be difficult to rinse off, and can stain your clothing and fingernails. Furthermore, peeled plantains will quickly oxidize, so if you have to peel them,  prepare a light light brine—a teaspoon of salt for each litre of water—and drop the prepared pieces into it until you are  ready to use them.

Peeling the plaintain

If you need to peel your plantain, follow these steps:

Cut off both ends and  draw the tip of a small sharp knife lengthways between each angle of the fruit. Place in hot water for a minute or two and then work one of the strips free at an end and ease it off with the fingers or with the aid of a knife. The other strips will then be easily removed.

Alternatives to Bannann Sen Zak

Other plantains that can be used  in the katkat include bannann Malgas; and bannann kare which possesses four pronounced ridges- hence its name, meaning square. Another type of plantain has been recently introduced and is getting quite popular is the bannann Ostrali; a hardy plantain imported from Australia that has adapted well on the islands.

If you are overseas and cannot access any cooking bananas, you can easily use green Cavendish banana locally known as bannann gabou . You can buy the ripe ones in most grocery stores, they are the long, yellow and slightly sweet bananas. The green ones may be more difficult to access, but  could be found in Asian and Filipino grocery stores.  The result will not be the same as when you use the plantain but it will be fairly close.

Preparing the dish

Preparing the fish

Trevally is abundant on the islands and is ideal for this recipe. Trevally has very few small bones and easy to work with and is also an affordable fish. The Seychellois prefer the bludger trevally or karang balo because it  is more oily than the other trevally resulting in a moist texture. However, in the absence of karang balo any trevally will do. In fact, this dish can be successfully made with most tropical fish.

Wash the trevally and cut in to bite size, season well with cracked pepper and salt. Add about one litre of water in a medium size pot and  boil the fish for no more than ten minutes. Do not use too much water. Once the fish is cooked, remove it from cooking liquor and allow to cool. Keep the liquor. Once the fish is cooled break it into smaller pieces and keep.

Preparing the plantain

Wash the plantains and cut the ends off and then cut in half. Do not peel. Add about one litre of water in a medium size pot and boil plantain for about 15 minutes. Remove the plantains from cooking liquor and allow to cool. Peel the plantains and transfer into a bowl and roughly mash with a fork and keep. Some cooks prefer to thinly slice the boiled plantain diagonally instead of mashing them. The slices are then cooked with the fish and will break into big chunks when stirred.

Finishing the katkat

In a pot, place the banana and add coconut milk, simmer for a few minutes. Then add the fish, cinnamon leaves, reduce the heat  and simmer  for another 10 minutes to a thick consistency. Stir frequently. If the mixture is too thick, use some of the cooking liquor in which the fish was cooked in to thin it a bit. The consistency of the katkat should be like a rough porridge with chunky pieces in it. Season and serve as a dish on its own or, if preferred, with some boiled rice and a hot chilli sauce.

Here is the recipe for Trevally Katkat with Green Plantain -Katkat Karang

Did you make this recipe?

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