Maafe

Story

Groundnut stews trace their roots to Mande-speaking cultures across Mali, Senegal, and Guinea, where cooks built rich sauces from native groundnuts long before the South American peanut arrived via Portuguese traders in the 16th century. The Malian variant, tigadegena, meaning peanut butter sauce in Bamanankan, and the Senegalese maafe evolved into distinct dishes: the Malian version is more watery, made with shea butter, while the Senegalese is a denser, tomato-enriched stew served over rice. Today maafe is considered the national dish of both Mali and Gambia, and enslaved Africans carried versions of it to the Americas, where it is the ancestor of Virginia peanut soup and Jamaican pinda stew.

Ingredients

• 1 kg bone-in chicken pieces, or 700 g stewing beef or lamb, cut into large chunks
• 2 tablespoons groundnut or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 150 g smooth natural peanut butter (no added sugar or salt)
• 500 ml chicken or beef stock
• 1 small Scotch bonnet or chilli pepper, left whole
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 medium carrots, cut into large chunks
• Quarter of a small cabbage, cut into wedges
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

• 1. Season the meat generously with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides in batches, around 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
• 2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the same pot and cook, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and golden.
• 3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
• 4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the base of the pot.
• 5. In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with 200 ml of the stock until smooth. Pour into the pot along with the remaining stock. Stir well.
• 6. Return the browned meat to the pot. Add the whole chilli pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• 7. Add the sweet potato and carrots. Cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened to a rich, coppery red.
• 8. Add the cabbage wedges in the final 10 minutes. Remove the whole chilli before serving.
• 9. Taste and adjust salt. Serve with steamed white rice, couscous, or fonio.

Common questions