Senegal | Stew

Mafe

Senegalese mafé, a peanut and tomato stew with beef, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, and slow-cooked sauce.

Country
Senegal
Region
West Africa
Time
100 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
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01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

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02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Senegal
5 steps 25 min prep 75 min cook (check method) 100 min total medium
1
Brown the meat
Heat oil. Season beef and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Brown meat 10:00
2
Build the base
Fry onions until soft. Add tomato paste and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger.
Fry base 05:00
3
Add peanut butter
Dissolve peanut butter in 3 cups warm water. Pour into pot with browned meat. Simmer.
Kitchen noteDissolve fully to avoid lumps.
4
Add vegetables
Add sweet potatoes, carrots. Simmer until tender and sauce is thick, 35-40 minutes.
Simmer stew 40:00
5
Serve
Ladle the mafe over fluffy white rice and serve hot, with enough sauce to coat the rice without drowning the vegetables.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas
Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Everyday family meals. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 100 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

White rice, fonio, couscous, or steamed millet

Regional lane

Onion, lemon, and peanut table. The sauces and stews that balance sharp onion, citrus, chile, and groundnut richness.

Chef watch-outs
  • Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
  • Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
  • The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Pantry lane

broken rice, dried fish, netetou, peanut paste, tamarind

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Mafe recipe from Senegal
Mafe finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Mafe

White rice, fonio, couscous, or steamed millet

Best route from here

Onion, lemon, and peanut table

Collections to keep cooking
Senegalese Rice and Yassa Table
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