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 2198 recipes in total:

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Koushry (Rice with Lentils)      Origin: Egypt	Lamb Julienne with Crispy Dumplings      Origin: Britain	Liberian Jollof Rice      Origin: Liberia
Kozi Ishtu (Keralan Chicken Ishtu)      Origin: India	Lamb Madras      Origin: India	Liberian Succotash (Corn and Beans)      Origin: Liberia
Krain Krain (Jute Leaf Stew)      Origin: Sierra Leone	Lamb Rogan Josh      Origin: India	Limón Pollo (Lemon Chicken)      Origin: Mexico
Kuah Kuning (Yellow Gravy Soup)      Origin: Papua	Lamb Stew with Chestnuts and Pomegranates      Origin: Georgia	Liver and Heart Kofta Curry      Origin: India
Kuba (Mushroom and Barley Casserole)      Origin: Czech	Lamb Stifado      Origin: Cyprus	Liver and Mushrooms with Fusilli Pasta      Origin: Italy
Kubani (Dried Apricot Dessert)      Origin: India	Lamb Tagine with Artichokes      Origin: Morocco	Llymru (Flummery)      Origin: Welsh
Kuka Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Lamb with New Potatoes and Coriander      Origin: Ireland	Llymru Cyfoethog (Rich Flummery)      Origin: Welsh
Kuku (Chicken)      Origin: Kenya	Lamb with Red Wine and Chorizo      Origin: Britain	Lobio Tkemali (Red Beans with Sour Plums and Balsamic Vinegar)      Origin: Georgia
Kuku Paka (Chicken-coconut Curry)      Origin: East Africa	Lamb with Spinach      Origin: Mauritius	Lobscows (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Kuku wa Nazi (Chicken with Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Lapin au Cidre (Rabbit in Cider)      Origin: France	Lobscows #2 (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Kukulu Musamma      Origin: Sri Lanka	Lapin au Vin Blanc (Rabbit with White Wine)      Origin: Gabon	Lobsgows Gorllewin Affrica (West African Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Kulu'wa (Eritrean Chopped Meat)      Origin: Eritrea	Laska      Origin: Malaysia	Lobster Curry      Origin: Britain
Kurmanash      Origin: India	Le Canard au tangor et à la Vanille (Clementine and Vanilla Duck)      Origin: Reunion	Locro Argentino (Beef and Hominy Stew)      Origin: Argentina
Kuru Fasulye      Origin: Turkey	Le cassoulet de la mer à la bretonne (Breton seaside cassoulet)      Origin: France	Locro de Zapallo      Origin: Peru
Kuurdak (Stewed Meat, Onions and Potatoes)      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Le Me Tsolola      Origin: Comoros	Loseyns in Fysch Day (Lozenge Cakes for Fish Day)      Origin: England
Kyazangi Kaukswe (Rice Noodles with Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Le Ndolé Camerounais (Cameroonian Ndolé)      Origin: Cameroon	Loubia B'dersa (Algerian Chili)      Origin: Algeria
Kyet tha Kar la Thar Hin (Chicken and Squash Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Le Poulet à la Crème de Vanille (Chicken with Vanilla Sauce)      Origin: Reunion	Loubia bil Luz (Green Beans with Almonds)      Origin: Algeria
Kyrgyz Plov      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Le Rougail Boucané (Smoked Pork Rougail)      Origin: Reunion	M'Baazi      Origin: Kenya
Lækker mørbradgryde (Pork Tenderloin Casserole)      Origin: Denmark	Leftover Turkey Fricassee      Origin: Scotland	M'Chuzi wa Nyama (Zanzibar-style Beef Curry)      Origin: Britain
L'Ham Lahlou (Sweet Lamb for Ramadan)      Origin: Algeria	Leftovers Jalfrezi with Gravy      Origin: India	Môr-leisiad wedi Potsio gyda Nionyn, Cennin a Ffenigl (Poached Pollack with Onion, Leek and Fennel)      Origin: Welsh
La Bandera Dominicana (The Dominican Flag)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Leftovers Lamb Ragu      Origin: Britain	M'borokhé (Peanut Sauce with Spinach)      Origin: Mali
La Capitaine Sangha (Nile Perch with Red Sauce)      Origin: Mali	Leksour (Mauritanian-style Pancakes with Sauce)      Origin: Mauritania	M'tsolola (Fish and Plantain stew in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Comoros
Lablabi      Origin: Tunisia	Leksour (Lamb Stew on Millet Pancakes)      Origin: Mauritania	Maafé      Origin: Mali
Laganophake (Lentil Stew)      Origin: Roman	Lemon Chilli Chicken      Origin: Cocos Islands	Maafe (Meat Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali
Lagman      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Lenticula (Roman Spicy Lentils)      Origin: Roman	Macanese-style Portuguese Curry Chicken      Origin: Macau
Lagman      Origin: Turkmenistan	Lenticula ex sphondylis (Mussels with Lentils)      Origin: Roman	Machaca (Mexican Shredded Beef)      Origin: Mexico
Lahm Lhalou (Lamb Stew with Prunes)      Origin: Algeria	Lenticula ex Sphondylis (Lentils and Parsnips)      Origin: Roman	Machboos Laham      Origin: Kuwait
Lahma Mu'assaga (Savoury Minced Lamb)      Origin: Egypt	Lenticulam de castaneis (Lentils and Chestnuts)      Origin: Roman	Machli aur Tamatar (Curried Halibut with Tomatoes)      Origin: India
Laksa      Origin: Malaysia	Lentil Curry with Japanese Knotweed and Sweet Potatoes      Origin: Fusion	Machli ka Salna (Fish Steak Curry)      Origin: India
Lale Mamoe (Samoan Lamb Curry)      Origin: Samoa	Lentil Hashwa      Origin: UAE	Mackerel and Samphire Stew      Origin: Britain
Lamb and Cabbage Rolls      Origin: Britain	Les haricots de Paimpol (Pampiol Beans)      Origin: France	Mackerel Run Down      Origin: Jamaica
Lamb Curry with Winter Vegetables and Spinach      Origin: Fusion	Les Lentilles (Reunion Lentils)      Origin: Reunion	Mada (Green Banana Dumplings)      Origin: Norfolk Island
Lamb Dhan Saag      Origin: India	Lièvre fumé à l'odika (Smoked Rabbit with Ogbono)      Origin: Gabon
Lamb Jalfrezi      Origin: India	Liberian Aubergine Stew      Origin: Liberia

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