Mafé

Senegalese groundnut stew with lamb and sweet potato

Origin: Senegambia (Senegal & Gambia)

From the journey of Peanut.

Mafé (also spelled mafé, maffe, or tigadèguena in Mali and Burkina Faso) is one of the great slow-cooked stews of West African cuisine; and one of the first dishes to incorporate the peanut after its arrival on the Guinea coast via Portuguese traders in the 1520s. The name is Wolof/Mandé in origin; the stew is made across the West African Sahel belt from Senegal to Mali to Burkina Faso under different names but with the same essential architecture: meat (traditionally lamb, goat, or beef) braised long and slowly in a sauce of tomato paste and ground peanuts, enriched with sweet potato or yam, and deepened with a fermented seasoning (nététu in Wolof, dawadawa in Hausa). Mafé is to West African cooking what cassoulet is to the French: a defining slow-braised dish that rewards patience and cannot be rushed. The peanut paste; ground raw peanuts or natural peanut butter; is the sauce itself, not merely an ingredient in it. As it cooks, it absorbs the meat juices and tomato, transforming into a thick, deeply flavoured liquid of extraordinary richness. It is served over white rice, always in generous quantities. Mali's version has its own entry here as tigadèguèna. It is thicker than the Senegalese sauce, carries less tomato, and is spooned over rice rather than mixed through it.

Ingredients

Meat

  • 1 kg bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces (or beef shin, or chicken pieces)

Sauce

  • 300 g natural peanut butter (100% peanuts, no added oil or sugar) or freshly ground roasted peanuts
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 400 g crushed tomatoes

Base

  • 1 large white onion, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

Spice

  • 1 Scotch bonnet chile (whole, for heat; remove before serving) or 1 tsp cayenne

Seasoning

  • 1 cube fermented locust bean seasoning (dawadawa/nététu/iru) or 1 tbsp fish sauce as substitute
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Vegetables

  • 400 g sweet potato (2 medium), peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 200 g white cabbage, cut into wedges (optional but traditional)

Fat

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Liquid

  • 750 ml water or light chicken/vegetable stock

To Serve

  • 400 g white rice, cooked, to serve

Method

  1. Season the lamb generously with salt. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the lamb on all sides in batches, 3–4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
  2. In the same pot, reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and stir into the onions; cook for 3 minutes until darkened.
  3. In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with 250ml of warm water until smooth. Add to the pot along with the crushed tomatoes, whole Scotch bonnet, locust bean seasoning, and the browned lamb. Stir to combine.
  4. Pour in the remaining 500ml water or stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
  5. Add the sweet potato chunks and cabbage wedges. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 30–40 minutes until the lamb is completely tender and falling off the bone, the sweet potato is soft, and the sauce has thickened into a deep reddish-brown gravy.
  6. Taste and adjust salt. Remove the Scotch bonnet if you prefer less heat, or leave it for full intensity. Serve ladled over white rice.

Notes

Mafé is significantly better the next day: the peanut sauce deepens overnight and the fat rises to the surface (skim before reheating). It keeps for up to 4 days refrigerated. The stew also works with chicken (reduce braising time by 30 minutes) or as a fully vegetarian version using chickpeas and yam instead of lamb.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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