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 2485 recipes in total:

Page 14 of 25

Le Rougail Boucané (Smoked Pork Rougail)      Origin: Reunion	Lobsgows Gorllewin Affrica (West African Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh	Magatla (Oxtail Casserole)      Origin: Botswana
Leftover Turkey Fricassee      Origin: Scotland	Lobster Curry      Origin: Britain	Magimbi ya nadzi (Taro in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Mayotte
Leftovers Jalfrezi with Gravy      Origin: India	Locro Argentino (Beef and Hominy Stew)      Origin: Argentina	Maharagwe (Spiced Red Beans in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya
Leftovers Lamb Ragu      Origin: Britain	Locro de Zapallo      Origin: Peru	Maharggwe (Vegetables and Beans)      Origin: Burundi
Leksour (Mauritanian-style Pancakes with Sauce)      Origin: Mauritania	Loseyns in Fysch Day (Lozenge Cakes for Fish Day)      Origin: England	Majadito (Bolivian Rice and Beef)      Origin: Bolivia
Leksour (Lamb Stew on Millet Pancakes)      Origin: Mauritania	Loubia B'dersa (Algerian Chili)      Origin: Algeria	Majboos al Laham (Lamb with Rice)      Origin: Kuwait
Lemon Chilli Chicken      Origin: Cocos Islands	Loubia bil Luz (Green Beans with Almonds)      Origin: Algeria	Makher Taukari (Fish Curry)      Origin: Bangladesh
Lenticula (Roman Spicy Lentils)      Origin: Roman	M'Baazi      Origin: Kenya	Makher Taukari II (Fish Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh
Lenticula ex sphondylis (Mussels with Lentils)      Origin: Roman	M'Chuzi wa Nyama (Zanzibar-style Beef Curry)      Origin: Britain	Makke      Origin: England
Lenticula ex Sphondylis (Lentils and Parsnips)      Origin: Roman	Môr-leisiad wedi Potsio gyda Nionyn, Cennin a Ffenigl (Poached Pollack with Onion, Leek and Fennel)      Origin: Welsh	Makluba (Upside Down Dish)      Origin: Palestine
Lenticulam de castaneis (Lentils and Chestnuts)      Origin: Roman	M'borokhé (Peanut Sauce with Spinach)      Origin: Mali	Makubi      Origin: Tanzania
Lentil Curry with Japanese Knotweed and Sweet Potatoes      Origin: Fusion	M'tsolola (Fish and Plantain stew in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Comoros	Malay Chicken Kurma      Origin: Malaysia
Lentil Hashwa      Origin: UAE	Maafé      Origin: Mali	Malaysian Beriani      Origin: Malaysia
Les haricots de Paimpol (Pampiol Beans)      Origin: France	Maafe (Meat Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Malaysian Goat Rendang      Origin: Malaysia
Les Lentilles (Reunion Lentils)      Origin: Reunion	Macanese-style Portuguese Curry Chicken      Origin: Macau	Malaysian Lamb Rendang      Origin: Malaysia
Lièvre fumé à l'odika (Smoked Rabbit with Ogbono)      Origin: Gabon	Machaca (Mexican Shredded Beef)      Origin: Mexico	Malewa (Bamboo and Peanut Soup)      Origin: Uganda
Libata (Duck with Carrots)      Origin: DR-Congo	Machboos Laham      Origin: Kuwait	Mallow Stew      Origin: Britain
Liberian Aubergine Stew      Origin: Liberia	Macher Jhol (Keralan Fish Curry)      Origin: India	Mallow-leaf Stew      Origin: African Fusion
Liberian Dry Rice      Origin: Liberia	Machli aur Tamatar (Curried Halibut with Tomatoes)      Origin: India	Malu Abulthiyal (Fish Curry with Fragrant Masala)      Origin: Sri Lanka
Liberian Jollof Rice      Origin: Liberia	Machli ka Salna (Fish Steak Curry)      Origin: India	Malvani Fish Curry      Origin: India
Liberian Prawn Bisque      Origin: Liberia	Mackerel and Samphire Stew      Origin: Britain	Malvas (Mallow Leaves)      Origin: Roman
Liberian Split Peas      Origin: Liberia	Mackerel in Breadfruit Gravy      Origin: Liberia	Mămăligă (Mamaliga)      Origin: Moldova
Liberian Succotash (Corn and Beans)      Origin: Liberia	Mackerel Run Down      Origin: Jamaica	Mancarra with Citi (Chicken with Peanuts and Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Liberian-style Fried Cabbage      Origin: Liberia	Mada (Green Banana Dumplings)      Origin: Norfolk Island	Mangai Palakottai Kuzhambu (Raw Mango Jackfruit Seed Curry)      Origin: India
Libyan Lamb Couscous      Origin: Libya	Madaba (Cassava Leaf and Coconut Stew)      Origin: Britain	Mangalorean Spinach and Black Eyed Beans Curry      Origin: India
Limón Pollo (Lemon Chicken)      Origin: Mexico	Madeiran Carne Vinha d'Alhos (Pork Marinated in Garlic and Wine)      Origin: Portugal	Mango Sauce      Origin: Nigeria
Lingonpäron (Lingonberry Pears)      Origin: Sweden	Mafé      Origin: Senegal	Mangoé Rafalari (Spicy Mango Stew)      Origin: Guinea
Liver and Heart Kofta Curry      Origin: India	Mafé Malienne (Malian Mafé)      Origin: Mali	Manhattan Seafood Stew      Origin: American
Liver and Mushrooms with Fusilli Pasta      Origin: Italy	Mafé Poulet (Chicken Mafé)      Origin: Senegal	Mani (Rice Sweet Dish)      Origin: India
Llymru (Flummery)      Origin: Welsh	mafè tatou nènn (Naked Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Manos de Cerdo a la Peruana (Peruvian-style Pig's Trotters)      Origin: Peru
Llymru Cyfoethog (Rich Flummery)      Origin: Welsh	Maffé de Tabaski (Maffé for Tabaski)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Manx Broth for a Wedding      Origin: Manx
Lobio Tkemali (Red Beans with Sour Plums and Balsamic Vinegar)      Origin: Georgia	Maffe aux Legumes Arachide (Beef or Lamb in Peanut Butter)      Origin: Senegal	Marake Kaloune (Fish in Sauce)      Origin: Djibouti
Lobscows (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh	Maffi Gumbo (Okra Sauce)      Origin: Guinea
Lobscows #2 (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh	Maffi Hakko Bangtura (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea

Page 14 of 25