Mafé
A rich, thick West African peanut stew with beef or lamb, tomatoes, and warming spices.
Ingredients
- •Beef or lamb
- •Natural peanut butter
- •Tomatoes
- •Onions
- •Tomato paste
- •Scotch bonnet
- •Garlic
- •Cabbage
- •Carrots
- •Sweet potato
- •Vegetable oil
- •Salt
Instructions
Brown meat
Cut beef or lamb into large chunks. Brown in oil in a heavy pot. Remove and set aside.
Build base
Sauté onions, garlic, and tomato paste in the same pot. Add blended tomatoes and scotch bonnet. Cook 10 minutes.
Add peanut butter
Whisk peanut butter into the sauce until fully incorporated. Add enough water to cover.
Return meat
Return meat to the pot. Simmer covered on medium-low for 40 minutes.
Add vegetables
Add cabbage, carrots, and sweet potato. Cook 20 more minutes until tender and stew has thickened.
Mafé is one of West Africa's great peanut stews — a slow-cooked, deeply rich preparation of meat and vegetables in a thick peanut and tomato sauce. Originating with the Mandinka people of the Senegambia region, mafé has spread across West Africa (known as tigadèguena in Mali and groundnut stew in Ghana) and is considered a defining dish of the broader Sahelian culinary tradition.
The richness of mafé comes from the generous quantity of peanut butter cooked into the tomato and onion base. As the stew simmers, the peanut butter breaks down and emulsifies into the sauce, creating a thick, velvety, slightly nutty liquid that coats every piece of meat and vegetable. The stew should be cooked low and slow — the longer it simmers, the richer and more complex it becomes.
Mafé is eaten with white rice, broken rice, or couscous, and the sauce is meant to be ladled generously. It is a profoundly warming, filling dish particularly suited to the cooler harmattan season. The stew improves significantly the next day as the flavors meld overnight, making it an excellent make-ahead dish for large gatherings.