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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Madaba (Cassava Leaf and Coconut Stew)      Origin: British	Manhattan Seafood Stew      Origin: American	Mchicha (Spinach, Coconut and Peanuts)      Origin: Tanzania
Madeiran Carne Vinha d'Alhos (Pork Marinated in Garlic and Wine)      Origin: Portugal	Mani (Rice Sweet Dish)      Origin: India	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Garden Egg Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Mafé      Origin: Senegal	Manos de Cerdo a la Peruana (Peruvian-style Pig's Trotters)      Origin: Peru	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Aubergine Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Mafé Malienne (Malian Mafé)      Origin: Mali	Manx Broth for a Wedding      Origin: Manx	Mchuzi wa Kamba (Zanzibar Prawn Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Mafé Poulet (Chicken Mafé)      Origin: Senegal	Marake Kaloune (Fish in Sauce)      Origin: Djibouti	Mchuzi wa Samaki (Fish Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
mafè tatou nènn (Naked Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Maraq Bilaash (Cherry Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Somalia	Meadow Waxcap Curry with Rice      Origin: Britain
Maffé de Tabaski (Maffé for Tabaski)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somalia	Meatballs in Garlic Broth      Origin: Algeria
Maffe aux Legumes Arachide (Beef or Lamb in Peanut Butter)      Origin: Senegal	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somaliland	Mesir Wat (Lentil Bowl)      Origin: Ethiopia
Maffi Gumbo (Okra Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Maraq Hilib Ari (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Somalia	Mexican Crockpot Chili      Origin: American
Maffi Hakko Bangtura (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Marolaym      Origin: Mauritania	Mexican Pork'n'Beans      Origin: American
Magatla (Oxtail Casserole)      Origin: Botswana	Maroumbo ya Nadzi (Tripe with Bananas)      Origin: Mayotte	Micronesian Coconut Chicken Curry      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Magimbi ya nadzi (Taro in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Mayotte	Maru we-llham (Meat and Rice with Vegetables)      Origin: Mauritania	Micronesian Fish with Coconut Milk and Lime      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Maharagwe (Spiced Red Beans in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Masaaledaar Pudine wal Quimah (Minced Lamb with Mint and Spices)      Origin: India	Microwave Beef Spice Hotpot      Origin: Britain
Maharggwe (Vegetables and Beans)      Origin: Burundi	Masale Baath (Maharashtrian Spicy Vegetable Rice)      Origin: India	Microwave Jambalaya (x)      Origin: Britain
Majadito (Bolivian Rice and Beef)      Origin: Bolivia	Masaledaar Bakre ki Kaleji Gurda Phepsa (Lamb Offal Curry)      Origin: India	Microwave Prawn Gumbo      Origin: Britain
Majboos al Laham (Lamb with Rice)      Origin: Kuwait	Massaman Mutton Curry      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Rabbit Stew with Dumplings      Origin: Britain
Makher Taukari (Fish Curry)      Origin: Bangladesh	Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Spicy Mid-winter Pie      Origin: Britain
Makher Taukari II (Fish Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh	Massaman Nuea (Beef Massaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Sweet and Sour Chicken      Origin: Fusion
Makke      Origin: England	Mataba au Poisson (Mataba with Fish)      Origin: Comoros	Midia Atmou me Aspro Krasi (Mussels Steamed in White Wine)      Origin: Greece
Makluba (Upside Down Dish)      Origin: Palestine	Matapa de Abóbora (Pumpkin Matapa)      Origin: Mozambique	Midia Pilaf (Mussels Pilaf)      Origin: Armenia
Makubi      Origin: Tanzania	Matata (Clam and Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Miesmuscheln mit Curry (Mussels with Curry Sauce)      Origin: Namibia
Malay Chicken Kurma      Origin: Malaysia	Matata (Clams Cooked in Port Wine)      Origin: Sao Tome	Mince and Tatties      Origin: Scotland
Malaysian Beriani      Origin: Malaysia	Matsavo (Pumpkin Leaf and Peanut Flour Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Minutal Apicianum (Ragout à la Apicius)      Origin: Roman
Malaysian Goat Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Mauritian Prawn Curry      Origin: Mauritius	Minutal Dulce ex Citriis (Sweet Citron Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Malaysian Lamb Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Mawmene (Chicken in White Wine with Dates and Pine Nuts)      Origin: England	Minutal ex Iecineribus et Pulmonibus Leporis (Hare's Liver and Lights Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Malewa (Bamboo and Peanut Soup)      Origin: Uganda	Mawmenee      Origin: England	Minutal ex Praecoquis (Apricot Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Mallow Stew      Origin: Britain	Mayotte Pilaou      Origin: Mayotte	Minutal ex Rosis (Ragout of Roses)      Origin: Roman
Mallow-leaf Stew      Origin: African Fusion	Mbakhal      Origin: Senegal	Minutal Matianum (Pork with Apples)      Origin: Roman
Malu Abulthiyal (Fish Curry with Fragrant Masala)      Origin: Sri Lanka	MBakhal aux Arachides (MBakhal with Peanuts)      Origin: Senegal	Minutal Terentinum (Terentine Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Malvas (Mallow Leaves)      Origin: Roman	Mbanga Soup (Palm Nut Soup)      Origin: Cameroon	Mirkapaya Mamsam Koora      Origin: India
Mămăligă (Mamaliga)      Origin: Moldova	Mbawa ya Tomati (Chicken wings with Tomatoes)      Origin: Mayotte	Miyan Kuka (Baobab Leaf Soup)      Origin: Nigeria
Mancarra with Citi (Chicken with Peanuts and Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Mboto à l'oseille (Fish with Sorrel)      Origin: Congo	Miyan Kuka II (Baobab Leaf Soup II)      Origin: Nigeria
Mango Sauce      Origin: Nigeria	Mboto à la Feuilles de Manioc (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Gabon
Mangoé Rafalari (Spicy Mango Stew)      Origin: Guinea	Mbuzi ya masala (Goat Meat Dry Fry)      Origin: Mayotte

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