Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken)
Chicken simmered in a spiced coconut sauce with tomato, ginger and saffron, a Malagasy dish beloved at Christmas.
Malagasy · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 55 min
~607 cal · 46g protein · 17g carbs · 39g fat · 5g fiber · 8g sugars · 23g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Akoho sy voanio, chicken with coconut, is one of Madagascar's most loved dishes, the island's Indian Ocean setting written into every spoonful. Chicken is browned, then simmered gently in with a base of tomato, onion, ginger and garlic and a thread of until the sauce turns fragrant and rich.
Coconut grows all along the Malagasy coast, and the dish carries the trade-route flavours, ginger, , a little curry, that mark so much of the island's cooking. It is traditionally a Christmas dinner, though it is easy and comforting enough to make any time of year.
Like nearly every Malagasy meal, it is served over a generous mound of rice, vary, which Madagascar eats at almost every sitting.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lb bone-in chicken pieces
1 can (about 13 oz) , full-fat
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
a pinch threads (or turmeric)
2 tbsp
Instructions
1
Brown the chicken in the oil in a heavy pot, then lift out and set aside.
2
Fry the onions, ginger and garlic until soft, then add the tomatoes and cook to a thick base.
3
Pour in the coconut milk and saffron, return the chicken, and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the heat low so the coconut milk stays creamy. A hard boil can split it into oil and curds.
4
Blend the sauce smooth if you like a silkier finish, return the chicken, and simmer 15 minutes more until tender.
5
Season and serve over plenty of rice.
Malagasy highland home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Analamanga (Antananarivo). Romazava was one of the hanimpitoloha, the seven dishes served at the court of the Merina kings who ruled from these highlands. The everyday version is plainer: rice, a brothy stew, a spoonful of tomato and ginger relish, and sakay, the chilli paste left on the table for whoever wants it.
🗺️
Madagascar. Romazava carries a surprise for anyone who has not met it. Among its greens is bredes mafana, whose leaves and flower buds leave a tingling numbness on the tongue, closer to Sichuan pepper than to anything else in the pot. Madagascar is also the world's leading producer of vanilla, which the island exports rather than cooks with.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Madagascar
RomazavaMadagascar’s national broth: zebu beef and mixed leafy greens with ginger and tomato, ladled over rice.
Mofo GasySlightly sweet fermented rice-flour cakes griddled in round moulds, "Malagasy bread" for breakfast.
Ravitoto sy HenakisoaPounded cassava leaves slow-cooked with pork, garlic, and ginger, one of Madagascar's best-known dishes.
Browse all Madagascar recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Madagascar meal
RanovolaDrink
Koba AkondroDessert
Ravitoto sy HenakisoaLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
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Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Gluten-Free Malagasy Recipes
Dairy-Free Malagasy Recipes
Gluten-Free Dinners from Around the World
Dairy-Free Dinners from Around the World
Egg-Free Dinners from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken)?
Chicken simmered in a spiced coconut sauce with tomato, ginger and saffron, a Malagasy dish beloved at Christmas.
Where does Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) come from?
Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) is a Malagasy dish from Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar.
Can Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) take to make?
About 70 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 55 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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