Name: Mabawa
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 6 servings, about 900 g cooked edible meat and skin
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1500 g chicken wingettes and drumettes — bone-in, skin-on, tips removed before purchase — Approx. 900 g cooked edible meat and skin after bone and rendered-fat loss; 150 g onion — roughly chopped; 20 g garlic — peeled; 8 g ground turmeric; 20 ml fresh lime juice; 15 ml neutral oil — about 10 ml estimated retained after grilling; 12 g fine salt; 3 g black pepper; 2 g ground hot chilli — moderate heat

Prep 30 minutes

Cook 25 minutes

Total 180 minutes

Yield 6 servings, about 900 g cooked edible meat and skin

Ingredients ↓

Introduction and overview

Mabawa asaly — Mahoran grilled chicken wings

Mabawa are closely associated with Mayotte’s brochetti food culture. Here, mabawa asaly means boldly seasoned chicken wings grilled over charcoal. It does not blend in fried mabawa firiri or a tomato-stewed wing preparation, which would change both technique and texture.

The marinade is a coarse paste of onion, garlic, turmeric, lime, chilli, pepper, oil and salt. The wings are bone-in and skin-on, but purchased as wingettes and drumettes with the tips already removed. They marinate under refrigeration for two hours, then cook over a two-zone charcoal fire so pieces can be moved away from flare-ups as chicken fat renders.

Colour is useful for browning, not for safety. Every wing must reach at least 74 °C in the thickest part away from bone. Raw-contact marinade is discarded rather than brushed onto cooked wings. The final nutrition calculation uses cooked edible meat and skin, excludes bones and allows for rendered fat that drips into the grill.

Success points

Marinate only under refrigeration.
Use a two-zone fire so flare-ups do not burn the skin before the centre is safe.
Check 74 °C away from bone on several wing pieces.

Ingredients

Wings

1500 g chicken wingettes and drumettes — bone-in, skin-on, tips removed before purchase — Approx. 900 g cooked edible meat and skin after bone and rendered-fat loss

Marinade

150 g onion — roughly chopped
20 g garlic — peeled
8 g ground turmeric
20 ml fresh lime juice
15 ml neutral oil — about 10 ml estimated retained after grilling
12 g fine salt
3 g black pepper
2 g ground hot chilli — moderate heat

Method

Marinate

Making or blend the. Pound or blend the onion, garlic, turmeric, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and chilli into a coarse paste. Tool: mortar and pestle or small processor. Time: 10 minutes. Temperature: room temperature. The marinade is a coarse, moist paste with no large garlic pieces. A paste clings to the wing joints more evenly than loose chopped aromatics.
Coating the chicken wingettes. Coat the chicken wingettes and drumettes thoroughly with the marinade in a non-reactive container. Tool: non-reactive bowl and clean spoon. Time: 10 minutes. Temperature: chilled. Every wing piece has a thin coating of marinade, including around the joint. Even coating supports even seasoning and browning. Do not wash raw chicken; prevent splashing and wash hands after handling.
Chilling the marinated wings. Refrigerate the marinated wings covered. Tool: covered container. Time: 120 minutes passive refrigeration. Temperature: 4 °C or below. The wings remain fully chilled and the marinade still coats the surface rather than pooling warm. Refrigerated marination limits bacterial growth. Keep at 4 °C or below.
Preparing a medium-hot two-zone. Prepare a medium-hot two-zone charcoal grill with a clean, lightly oiled grate. Tool: charcoal grill, long tongs and grill brush. Time: 10 minutes. Temperature: medium-hot grill. The coals are covered with a light ash and there is a cooler zone available for flare-up control. Two-zone heat allows browning without burning rendered chicken fat. Keep a lid and safe flare-up control available; never use accelerant on lit coals.

Grill and rest

Grilling the wings over. Grill the wings over medium-hot charcoal, turning several times and moving pieces away from flare-ups, until safely cooked through. Discard any marinade that contacted raw chicken. Tool: charcoal grill and long tongs. Heat: medium-hot charcoal. Time: 25 minutes. Temperature: grill. The thickest part of every wing reaches at least 74 °C away from bone, and the skin is browned with no cold spots at the joints. Temperature, not colour alone, confirms safe poultry. Measure 74 °C in the thickest part away from bone; raw-contact marinade must be discarded rather than brushed onto cooked wings.
Resting the cooked wings. Rest the cooked wings briefly on a clean platter before serving. Tool: clean platter. Time: 5 minutes passive resting. Temperature: hot. The juices have settled and the wings remain hot for service. A short rest reduces immediate juice loss when eaten. Use a clean platter and clean tongs, never the raw-chicken container or utensils.

Serving and planning

Practical

Serving and planning

Serve hot in the style of mabawa asaly. Cassava, banana, breadfruit, rice or poutou may accompany the wings but remain outside the base nutrition.

Serving and planning

The wings can marinate for up to eight hours at 4 °C or below. Never leave raw poultry to marinate on the counter.

Serving and planning

Peanut is not used in this base version. If a peanut condiment is added, treat it as a separate component with its own allergen declaration and nutrition.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked wings within 2 hours in shallow covered containers and use within 3 days. Reheat to 74 °C. The skin is best recrisped in an oven or grill rather than microwaved.

Make-ahead

The wings can be marinated up to 8 hours under refrigeration. Do not hold raw marinated poultry at room temperature.

Substitutions

Do not switch this record to deep-fried or tomato-stewed mabawa.

Substitutions

If a peanut-based condiment is added at service, it must be treated as a separate component with a peanut allergen declaration and separate nutrition.

Troubleshooting

IssueOutside browns before centre is safe — move to the cooler grill zone and continue until 74 °C.
IssueFlare-ups blacken the skin — close the lid briefly or shift wings away from direct drips.
IssueMarinade burns — the fire is too hot; use medium heat and turn more often.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 6 portions: about 150 g cooked edible meat and skin
Calories406 kcal
Carbohydrate3.7 g
Protein41.0 g
Fat25.7 g
Fibre0.5 g
Sodium916 mg

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: No major allergen is intentionally added in the base recipe; peanut is absent unless a separate peanut condiment is served.

Safety: Do not wash raw chicken.

Safety: Keep raw poultry and marinade separate from ready-to-eat food.

Safety: Discard raw-contact marinade after it has touched the chicken; do not brush it onto cooked wings.

Safety: Cook to at least 74 °C in the thickest part away from bone.

Safety: Beware flare-ups, hot rendered fat and small wing bones.

Safety: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

FAQ

Can I reuse the marinade?

Not as raw marinade. Discard it after contact with chicken; any reuse would require a separate boil-before-use control.

Why can grilled wings look done before they are safe?

Charcoal browns the surface quickly, so a thermometer is needed to confirm 74 °C near the joint.

Closing

Result: Mayotte-style chicken wingettes and drumettes marinated with onion, garlic, turmeric, lime and chilli, then grilled over charcoal to 74 °C.
Decisive technique: Marinate only under refrigeration.

Mabawa asaly — Mahoran grilled chicken wings

Success points

Ingredients

Wings

Marinade

Method

Practical

Serving and planning

Serving and planning

Serving and planning

Storage

Make-ahead

Substitutions

Substitutions

Troubleshooting

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

FAQ

Can I reuse the marinade?

Why can grilled wings look done before they are safe?

Closing

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Macaronade sétoise

Madeleines de Commercy