1
Brown the meat
Heat oil. Season beef and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Brown meat
10:00
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
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Mafé should taste roasted and creamy, not like raw peanut butter. Fry the tomato paste, loosen the peanut paste with warm stock, then simmer patiently.
What the dish tastes like
Senegalese mafé, a peanut and tomato stew with beef, sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, and slow-cooked sauce.
When to cook it
Best for Everyday family meals, with a medium cooking level 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
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.
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
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
5 steps
100 min total
medium
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.
Dissolve 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.