Mafé (Senegalese Peanut Stew)

About This Recipe

Mafé (also mafe, tigadèguena or groundnut stew) is one of the most important and ancient dishes of West Africa, eaten from Senegal to Mali to Guinea in countless regional variations. The defining element is groundnut (peanut) paste — whole roasted peanuts ground into a thick, oily paste — which is cooked with tomato, onion and spices into a sauce of extraordinary richness and depth. The peanut sauce is not sweet but savoury and slightly bitter, with a complexity that deepens with the long cooking. Lamb is the most traditional protein in Senegal, but beef, chicken and goat are all used. Mafé is served over rice or couscous and is the dish Senegalese families make when there is something to celebrate.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gbone-in lamb shoulder(cut into pieces)
• 200 gsmooth peanut butter(natural, unsweetened)
• 400 gtinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2onions(diced)
• 3garlic cloves(minced)
• 1scotch bonnet(left whole)
• 2carrots(diced)
• 1sweet potato(diced 3cm)
• 150 ggreen beans(trimmed and halved)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 700 mlwater or stock
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown meat

   Heat oil in a large pot. Brown lamb pieces in batches over high heat 4 min per side. Remove and set aside.

2. 2

   Soften onions

   In the same pot, fry onions 8 min until golden. Add garlic and cook 1 min.

3. 3

   Add tomatoes and paste

   Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook 10 min until reduced and darkened.

4. 4

   Add peanut butter

   Stir in peanut butter with 200ml hot water to thin it into the sauce. Add remaining water, whole scotch bonnet, salt and pepper. Return meat to the pot.

   Thin the peanut butter with hot water first — adding it straight to the pot can cause it to seize and clump.

5. 5

   Braise slowly

   Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook 45 min on low heat, stirring occasionally.

6. 6

   Add vegetables

   Add carrots and sweet potato. Simmer 20 min. Add green beans in the last 8 min. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. 7

   Serve

   Serve over steamed white rice. The sauce should be thick, velvety and deeply flavoured.

Variations

• •

  Chicken mafé: use bone-in chicken thighs — reduce braise to 40 min total

• •

  Vegetarian mafé: omit meat, double the sweet potato and add chickpeas

• •

  Add dried shrimp or fish sauce for a deeper umami base

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Improves on day 2. Keeps 4 days refrigerated. Freezes very well for 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions