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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Karahi Machhli (White Fish Curry)      Origin: Pakistan	Khichidi      Origin: India	Kosksu bil-Ful (Couscous with Broad Beans)      Origin: Malta
Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines	Khichiri      Origin: India	Kotor Bay Stewed Fish      Origin: Montenegro
Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia	Khnom Jin Namya (Catfish Curry over Noodles)      Origin: Thailand	Koumrangan      Origin: Chad
Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Stew)      Origin: Finland	Khoodra Mafrooka      Origin: Sudan	Kouneli Stifado (Rabbit Stew)      Origin: Greece
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Khoresh B'Amieh (Okra Stew)      Origin: Iran	Koushari (Lentils, Macaroni and Rice in Oil)      Origin: Egypt
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Bonaire	Khoresht-e Loobia (Stewed Mutton with String Beans)      Origin: Iran	Koushry (Rice with Lentils)      Origin: Egypt
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Khoresht-e Zereshk (Barberry, Lamb and Nut Stew)      Origin: Iran	Kozi Ishtu (Keralan Chicken Ishtu)      Origin: India
Karni Stobá (Curaçao Stewed Beef)      Origin: Curacao	Khoreshte Kalal (Lamb Stew with Barberry Sauce)      Origin: Iran	Krain Krain (Jute Leaf Stew)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Karni Stobá (Sint Eustatian Stewed Beef)      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Khormya (Spiced Lamb with Yoghurt)      Origin: Kazakhstan	Kuah Kuning (Yellow Gravy Soup)      Origin: Papua
Kashmiri Chicken Curry      Origin: India	Khumbi Aloo (Mushroom and Potato Curry)      Origin: India	Kuba (Mushroom and Barley Casserole)      Origin: Czech
Katakou au Poisson Frais (Palm Soup Base with Fresh Fish)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kibeba (Cassava and Cuttlefish Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Kubani (Dried Apricot Dessert)      Origin: India
Katami Satsabeli Baga (Duck in Georgian Walnut Sauce)      Origin: Georgia	Kid Goat Korma      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Kuka Soup      Origin: Nigeria
Katogo (Beans with Cassava)      Origin: Uganda	Kig ha Farz (Meat with Stuffing)      Origin: France	Kuku (Chicken)      Origin: Kenya
Kebab Halla (Stewed Beef)      Origin: Egypt	Kilmeny Kail      Origin: Scotland	Kuku Paka (Chicken-coconut Curry)      Origin: East Africa
Kebbeh Kunda Benachin      Origin: Gambia	Kingklip and Prawn Biryani      Origin: South Africa	Kuku wa Nazi (Chicken with Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya
Kede in Bokenade (Kid Goat in Sauce)      Origin: England	Kiribati Coconut Crab Curry      Origin: Kiribati	Kukulu Musamma      Origin: Sri Lanka
Kedgeree 2      Origin: Fusion	Kishke (Stuffed Derma)      Origin: Uzbekistan	Kulu'wa (Eritrean Chopped Meat)      Origin: Eritrea
Kedjenou      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kissra be Omregayga      Origin: Sudan	Kurmanash      Origin: India
Kedjenou II      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kjötsúpa (Icelandic Lamb Stew)      Origin: Iceland	Kuru Fasulye      Origin: Turkey
Kefta dyal Ghriba (Synagogue Koftas)      Origin: Tunisia	Kjufteta Po Cirpanski (Meatballs and Potatoes)      Origin: Bulgaria	Kuurdak (Stewed Meat, Onions and Potatoes)      Origin: Kyrgyzstan
Kejenou avec Agouti (Kejenou with Cane Rat)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kobi Bhaji      Origin: India	Kyazangi Kaukswe (Rice Noodles with Curry)      Origin: Myanmar
Kelenkelen (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Cameroon	Kobi Keema (Cabbage and Minced Meat Curry)      Origin: India	Kyet tha Kar la Thar Hin (Chicken and Squash Curry)      Origin: Myanmar
Keleya Zaara (Tunisian Lamb with Saffron)      Origin: Tunisia	Kobi Sabji (Cabbage Sabji)      Origin: India	Kyrgyz Plov      Origin: Kyrgyzstan
Kenkey      Origin: Ghana	Kohl Westfalisch (Westphalian Cabbage II)      Origin: Germany	Lækker mørbradgryde (Pork Tenderloin Casserole)      Origin: Denmark
Kenyan Chicken Tikka      Origin: Kenya	Kokam Fish      Origin: India	L'Ham Lahlou (Sweet Lamb for Ramadan)      Origin: Algeria
Kenyan Matoke      Origin: British	Koko na Nyama (Meat with Koko)      Origin: Central African Republic	La Bandera Dominicana (The Dominican Flag)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Kerrie-aartappels en Uie (Curried Potatoes and Onions)      Origin: South Africa	Kokum Kari (Kokam Curry)      Origin: India	La Capitaine Sangha (Nile Perch with Red Sauce)      Origin: Mali
Kerrieboontjies (South African Curried Beans)      Origin: South Africa	Komprek Eromba (Water Dropwort Eromba)      Origin: India	Lablabi      Origin: Tunisia
Kewa Datshi (Potatoes with Cheese)      Origin: Bhutan	Kondré de Porc (Kondré of Pork)      Origin: Cameroon	Laganophake (Lentil Stew)      Origin: Roman
Kewa Phagsha (Spicy Pork with Potatoes)      Origin: Bhutan	Konkoé Turé Gbéli (Smoked Catfish Stew with Vegetables)      Origin: Guinea	Lagman      Origin: Kyrgyzstan
Khao Man (Coconut Rice)      Origin: Brunei	Kontomire Stew (Cocoyam Leaf Stew)      Origin: Ghana	Lagman      Origin: Turkmenistan
Khasi Ko Masu (Nepali Goat Meat Curry)      Origin: Nepal	Koozy (Leg of Lamb)      Origin: Iraq	Lahm Lhalou (Lamb Stew with Prunes)      Origin: Algeria
Khatta Curry      Origin: India	Korean-inspired Pollock Stew with Gochujang and Wild Greens      Origin: Korea
Khela Kalia (West Bengali Lamb Curry)      Origin: India	Koshari (Lentils, Pasta and Rice)      Origin: Egypt

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