Akoho sy Voanio

Akoho sy voanio is Malagasy chicken simmered in coconut milk with garlic, onion and ginger, served with rice.

Akoho sy voanio is a common dish from Madagascar. In Malagasy, akoho means chicken, sy means "and" and voanio means coconut, so the name simply says chicken and coconut. Recipes differ from cook to cook, but the chicken and the coconut milk stay at the centre of the dish.

What it really is

Chicken pieces are simmered slowly in coconut milk, with garlic, onion and ginger cooked in the pot to build the flavour. As the stew reduces, the coconut milk turns into a rich, thick sauce that coats the meat. Coconut milk is the base of the sauce, not a garnish added at the end.

Recipes vary in how much coconut milk goes in, how strong the ginger and garlic taste, and how long the pot stays on the heat, so one cook's version can be thicker or sharper than another's.

How it's served

• Hot, spooned over a plate of plain steamed rice so the rice soaks up the sauce.
• Chicken and sauce together in one dish, with the rice as the base.
• As a main course in a meal, not as a starter or snack.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the protein as chicken, and say whether it is served on the bone or boneless.
• Write "coconut milk" in the description. Coconut is not a declarable allergen in the UK or EU, but in the US it is labelled as a tree nut, so guests with a tree-nut allergy need to see it.
• The classic recipe contains no standard allergen, but ask the kitchen whether a stock cube or spice blend is used, since these can contain celery, mustard or wheat.
• Name the rice as a separate item if you sell it on its own, and say how hot the sauce is, since recipes differ in heat.