Africa → Madagascar → Analamanga (Antananarivo)
🍢 SNACK
Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters)
Little savoury fritters of a thick flour and egg batter packed with watercress, spring onion, tomato and red chili, fried golden by the spoonful and eaten hot.
Malagasy · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~297 cal · 7g protein · 35g carbs · 14g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In Malagasy, mofo means bread or cake and sakay means chili, and mofo sakay are exactly that: small, spicy, savoury fritters. They are street food all over Madagascar, fried to order in big pans of oil and eaten hot, as an afternoon snack or with drinks.
At the bus stations of Antananarivo they sit beside the sweet mofo gasy and mokary rice cakes, but they are a different thing entirely: a wheat-flour batter, seasoned with salt and a little curry powder or turmeric, crowded with chopped greens, tomato, spring onion and red chili, and dropped into the oil by the spoonful.
The greens change with the season and the cook. Watercress and brèdes, the leafy greens of Malagasy cooking, are both used, and a fritter heavy on the greens is often called mofo anana, from anana, greens. Some vendors add a little dried shrimp. They should be crisp at the edges and soft in the middle.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and dairy-, nut- 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 6
- 250 g (2 cups) plain wheat flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 tsp curry powder or ground turmeric
- 2 eggs
- about 200 ml (3/4 cup) water, enough for a thick batter
- 1 bunch (about 80 g) watercress, finely chopped, or young spinach or other tender greens
- 1 bunch spring onions or chives, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
- 3 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped, fewer for a milder fritter
- about 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- 1Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and curry powder in a large bowl.
- 2Add the eggs and beat them in hard, then add the water little by little, stirring, until you have a thick batter that drops heavily from a spoon.✎ Chef’s noteThe batter should be thick enough to hold a mound. If it runs, add a spoonful of flour; if it is stiff, a splash of water.
- 3Stir in the watercress, spring onions, tomato and chilies until evenly mixed.
- 4Heat about 2 cm (3/4 inch) of oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop in tablespoons of batter, a few at a time, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until puffed and golden.
- 5Drain on paper towels and eat hot, while the edges are still crisp.
Malagasy street-food tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Analamanga (Antananarivo). The green that makes romazava what it is is anamalaho, also sold as bredes mafana, which contains spilanthol and leaves a light tingling numbness on the tongue. Rice is not a side dish here either: the average Malagasy eats around 150 kilos of it a year, more than half of daily calories.
🗺️
Madagascar. The plate is described in two words: vary, the rice, and laoka, whatever goes on it. The proportion is heavily weighted to the rice, and Malagasy people eat among the highest quantities of it per head in the world, with rice supplying more than half the daily calories. The laoka may be as slight as greens with a little pork.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
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: Skillet or frying pan.
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
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters)?
Little savoury fritters of a thick flour and egg batter packed with watercress, spring onion, tomato and red chili, fried golden by the spoonful and eaten hot.
Where does Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) come from?
Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) is a Malagasy dish from Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar.
Can Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Mofo Sakay (Malagasy Chili Fritters) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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