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
Explore Senegal recipes Browse AfroKitchen
Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for Everyday family meals. Plan on a medium cook and 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

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
Servings 6

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

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

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

Back to Senegal
5 steps 25 min prep 75 min cook 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.

Keep exploring

Cook around Mafe

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

Thieboudienne recipe from Senegal Senegal Main dish Thieboudienne Senegalese thieboudienne, fish stuffed with rof and served over tomato rice cooked with cabbage, cassava, carrot, eggplant,... Time135 min ServingsServes 8 DifficultyHard DietGluten Free RegionWest Africa Open recipe Senegal Street food Ndambe Senegalese black-eyed pea stew simmered with tomato, onion, chile, and spices, often served in bread. Time100 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyEasy DietVegan RegionWest Africa Open recipe Senegal Stew Soupe Kandia Senegalese okra and seafood stew with palm oil, fish, shrimp, dried seafood, vegetables, and rice. Time105 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyMedium DietGluten Free RegionWest Africa Open recipe Senegal Street food Fataya Senegalese fried pastries filled with spiced fish or meat and served with tomato-onion dipping sauce. Time90 min ServingsServes 8 DifficultyMedium DietDairy Free RegionWest Africa Open recipe
Browse AfroKitchen Explore Senegal recipes