Stews have been around almost nearly as long as humans have been cooking. All you need is a vessel to hold your ingredients and water and a means of heating that vessel. It can be as simple as a leather bag with stones heated in a fire dropped into it. So stews were almost certainly prepared during the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, if not earlier. Once you have clay or metal pots you can prepare stews next to or set directly over a fire. Stews are low-maintenance cookery, generally not requiring that the cooking pot be observed continuously. The slow cooking is also ideal for tenderizing tougher cuts of meat (neck, shin, tail etc). As these also tend to be the most flavoursome parts of animals, this also means that stews can be extremely flavourful. Stews also pair well with the local staple: potatoes, rice, bread, yams, cassava etc.

Even in hunter-gatherer societies stews are useful in that the slow cooking can make the most of tough meat and it can be combined with foraged grains, leafy greens, nuts and starchy tubers to yield a flavourful, low maintenance and nutritious meal. With the advent of agriculture almost all grains are amenable to stewing and combining grains and legumes in a stew provides a ready way to gain all the essential amino acids that humans (particularly children) require.

The boiling process of making stews also helps sterilize the ingredients, killing harmful bacteria and viruses. It can also help neutralize harmful chemicals, such as the cyanogenic compounds in bitter cassava and helps reduce bitterness in leafy greens, making the food both safer to eat and more palatable. The addition of flavouring ingredients (fruit, spices, herbs) during the cooking process can also alter the flavours of stews, making them more palatable and more appealing. This is particularly the case when adding components with high umami content (certain fish, seaweed, cruciferous vegetables, beans, soy sauce, mushrooms etc).

It is little wonder that, taken globally, the list of stews presented on this site is a long one.

Some stews border on soups and the definition of whether a dish is a soup or a stew. A good example of this is Welsh cawl which can be served with more liquid as a soup or can be thickened as a stew and served with bread and/or potatoes. Most curries, due to their long, slow cooking and blend of ingredients can also be considered a subtype of stew.

Pretty much every culture on earth has a classic stew that's a major part of its cultural culinary repertoire. I have viewed and collected recipes for many of these on my travels. These and other classic stews from around the world are collected and presented here.

The alphabetical list of all the stew recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2116 recipes in total:

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A Bengal Currie      Origin: Britain	Aliter ius in pisce elixo (Sauce for Poached Fish, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Apios et Porros (Celery and Leeks)      Origin: Roman
A Messe of Greens      Origin: Britain	Aliter Lenticulam (Lentils, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Apple and Rhubarb Compote      Origin: Britain
A Potage of Roysons (A Pudding of Raisins)      Origin: England	Aliter Leporem ex Suo Iure (Another, Hare in its Own Gravy)      Origin: Roman	Appulmoy (Apple Stew)      Origin: England
Aaloo Gosht (Mutton Curry with Potatoes)      Origin: Pakistan	Aliter Patina (Patina, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Apricot and Bergamot Chicken      Origin: Britain
Abadejo a la Pimienta Verde (Pollock with Green Pepper)      Origin: Spain	Aliter patina de aparagis (A Dish of Asparagus, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Arbi ki Bhaji (Taro Curry)      Origin: India
Abgousht (Persian Beef Stew)      Origin: Iran	Aliter patina de asparagis frigida (Cold Asparagus Dish with Woodock)      Origin: Roman	Ardshane House Irish Stew      Origin: Ireland
Abura-miso      Origin: Japan	Aliter Patina de Asparagis II (A Dish of Asparagus, Another Way II)      Origin: Roman	Aromatic Lamb with Ginger and Potatoes      Origin: Ireland
Adobo Marinade      Origin: Puerto Rico	Aliter Pisa Sive Faba (Peas or Beans, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Arroz a la Cubana (Cuban-style Rice)      Origin: Philippines
Afrikaanse Yakhni      Origin: South Africa	Aliter Pisam Sive Faba (Peas or Broad Beans, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Arroz al Horno con Perdiz (Baked Rice with Garlic)      Origin: Spain
Agatoke (Plantain and Vegetable Porridge)      Origin: Burundi	Aliter Sepias (Cuttlefish, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Arroz com Camarão (Rice with Prawns)      Origin: Brazil
Agneau au Cari (Lamb Curry)      Origin: Reunion	Aliter tisanam (Barley Soup, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Arroz con Camarón (Rice with Prawns)      Origin: Ecuador
Agnum Simplicem (Plain Lamb)      Origin: Roman	Almejas à la Naranja (Clams with Orange Sauce)      Origin: Spain	Arroz con Chorizo (Rice with Chorizo)      Origin: Ecuador
Agushi Soup (Ghanaian Egusi Soup)      Origin: Ghana	Aloo Bhaji      Origin: India	Arroz con Dulce (Puerto Rican Coconut Rice Pudding)      Origin: Puerto Rico
Ah Mè Thar Hin (Myanmar Beef Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Alu Achari      Origin: India	Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice and Beans with Sofrito)      Origin: Puerto Rico
Ah Mè Thar Hin (Beef Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Alu ko Achhar (Potatoes with Split Peas)      Origin: Nepal	Arroz con Leche (Ecuadorian Rice Pudding)      Origin: Ecuador
Ahlu Hin (Potato Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Alubias Blancas Con Almejas (White Beans with Clams)      Origin: Spain	Arroz con Leche (Rice with Milk)      Origin: Colombia
Ajiaco Criollo (Cuban Creole Stew)      Origin: Cuba	Alubias blancas con calamar y aceite de romero (White Beans with Squid and Rosemary Oil)      Origin: Spain	Arroz con Pollo (Chicken with Saffron Rice)      Origin: Spain
Ajlouke et Potiron (Pumpkin Dip)      Origin: Tunisia	Amala and Ewedu      Origin: Nigeria	Arroz Con Pollo (Costa Rican Arroz con Pollo)      Origin: Costa Rica
Ak-Ni Korma      Origin: India	Amaranth Porridge with Fruity Green Tea Compote      Origin: Fusion	Arroz con Pollo Guatemalteco (Chicken with Rice, Guatemalan Style)      Origin: Guatemala
Akoho sy Voanio (Chicken in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Madagascar	Amashaza mu gitoke (Peas with Plantains)      Origin: Uganda	Arroz Con Pollo Panameño (Panamanian Arroz con Pollo)      Origin: Panama
Alicam vel sucum tisanae (Spelt or Barley Gruel)      Origin: Roman	Ambotic      Origin: Mozambique	Arroz de Coco e Papaia (Rice with Coconut and Papaya)      Origin: Angola
Alitcha Birsen      Origin: Eritrea	Ambrevades au Curry (Pigeon Pea and Coconut Curry)      Origin: Comoros	Arroz Integral com Mantiega de Amendoim e Bananas (Brown Rice with Peanut Mantiega and Bananas)      Origin: Angola
Aliter Coliclos I (Sprouts, Another Way, I)      Origin: Roman	Amêijoas na Cataplana (Steamed Clams and Sausage in Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Portugal	Aruba Chicken      Origin: Aruba
Aliter Coliclos II (Stalks, Another Way, II)      Origin: Roman	Amiwo au Poulet 2 (Amiwo with Chicken)      Origin: Benin	Aruban Curried Chicken      Origin: Aruba
Aliter Coliclos III (Stalks, Another Way, III)      Origin: Roman	Amulatum Aliter (Another Thick Sauce)      Origin: Roman	Aruban Curried Goat      Origin: Aruba
Aliter Coliclos IV (Stalks, Another Way, IV)      Origin: Roman	Anadl y Ddraig (Dragon's Breath)      Origin: Welsh	Aruban Curried Mutton      Origin: Aruba
Aliter Coliclos V (Stalks, Another Way, V)      Origin: Roman	Anardana Jheenga (Pomegranate-flavoured Prawns)      Origin: India	Asado de Tenera (Roast Veal)      Origin: Spain
Aliter Conchiclam Sic Facies (Legumes, Another Way, Are Made Thus)      Origin: Roman	Anguillan Rice and Peas      Origin: Anguilla	Asaro (Special Yam Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria
Aliter cucumeres (Cucumber with Fennel Seed)      Origin: Roman	Anguillan Saltfish      Origin: Anguilla	Asaro II (Yam Porridge)      Origin: Nigeria
Aliter Cucumeres Rasos (Peeled Cubumbers, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Angwa Mo (Ghanaian Rice Pilaf)      Origin: Ghana	Ashlyamfu (Noodles, Stew and Omelette)      Origin: Kyrgyzstan
Aliter Fabaciae (Green Beans, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Ansjovisfisk (Fish with Anchovies)      Origin: Sweden	Asian Duck Curry      Origin: Fusion
Aliter haedinam sive agninam excaldatam (Lamb Stew)      Origin: Roman	Antiguan Callaloo      Origin: Antigua	Assegas n Tajin s Ifrawen (Camel tagine with dried apricots)      Origin: Western Sahara
Aliter in Echino (Sauce for Sea Urchin)      Origin: Roman	Antipasto Rice      Origin: Italy
Aliter In Echino (Sea Urchin, Another Way)      Origin: Roman	Apelsinfisk (Fish with Orange)      Origin: Sweden

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