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:

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Maraq Bilaash (Cherry Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Somalia	Mchuzi wa Kamba (Zanzibar Prawn Curry)      Origin: Tanzania	Miyan Wake (Beans soup)      Origin: Nigeria
Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somalia	Mchuzi wa Samaki (Fish Curry)      Origin: Tanzania	Mkhwani with Groundnut Flour      Origin: Malawi
Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somaliland	Meadow Waxcap Curry with Rice      Origin: Britain	Moambé Stew      Origin: Congo
Maraq Hilib Ari (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Somalia	Meatballs in Garlic Broth      Origin: Algeria	Mogatla (Oxtail Casserole)      Origin: Botswana
Marolaym      Origin: Mauritania	Meen Moilee (Keralan Fish Curry)      Origin: India	Mohinga      Origin: Myanmar
Maroumbo ya Nadzi (Tripe with Bananas)      Origin: Mayotte	Meshoui (Moroccan Lamb)      Origin: Morocco	Mokoto      Origin: Benin
Maru we-llham (Meat and Rice with Vegetables)      Origin: Mauritania	Mesir Wat (Lentil Bowl)      Origin: Ethiopia	Molohiya (Chicken and Jute Mallow Stew)      Origin: Northern Cyprus
Masaaledaar Pudine wal Quimah (Minced Lamb with Mint and Spices)      Origin: India	Mexican Crockpot Chili      Origin: American	Molokheya au Poulet (Chicken Molokhia)      Origin: Tunisia
Masale Baath (Maharashtrian Spicy Vegetable Rice)      Origin: India	Mexican Pork'n'Beans      Origin: American	Molokhia (Egyptian Greens Soup)      Origin: Egypt
Masaledaar Bakre ki Kaleji Gurda Phepsa (Lamb Offal Curry)      Origin: India	Micronesian Coconut Chicken Curry      Origin: Federated States Micronesia	Moloukhia (Jute Leaf Stew)      Origin: Niger
Massaman Mutton Curry      Origin: Thailand	Micronesian Fish with Coconut Milk and Lime      Origin: Federated States Micronesia	Monnchelet (Veal or Mutton Stew with Herbs and Egg Liaison)      Origin: England
Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Beef Spice Hotpot      Origin: Britain	Montenegrin Imam Bajeldi      Origin: Montenegro
Massaman Nuea (Beef Massaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Jambalaya      Origin: Britain	Montserratian Fisherman's Stew      Origin: Montserrat
Mataba au Poisson (Mataba with Fish)      Origin: Comoros	Microwave Polenta and Sausage      Origin: American	Montserratian Goat Water      Origin: Montserrat
Matapa de Abóbora (Pumpkin Matapa)      Origin: Mozambique	Microwave Prawn Gumbo      Origin: Britain	Montserratian Rice and Peas      Origin: Montserrat
Matata (Clam and Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Microwave Rabbit Stew with Dumplings      Origin: Britain	Moong Pulao (Mung Bean Pulao)      Origin: Pakistan
Matata (Clams Cooked in Port Wine)      Origin: Sao Tome	Microwave Spicy Mid-winter Pie      Origin: Britain	Moongre ki Subzi (Radish Pod and Potato Sauté)      Origin: India
Matsavo (Pumpkin Leaf and Peanut Flour Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Microwave Sweet and Sour Chicken      Origin: Fusion	Mopane Worms and Sorghum Porridge      Origin: Botswana
Mauritian Prawn Curry      Origin: Mauritius	Midia Atmou me Aspro Krasi (Mussels Steamed in White Wine)      Origin: Greece	Moqueca de Camarão (Prawn Stew)      Origin: Angola
Mawmene (Chicken in White Wine with Dates and Pine Nuts)      Origin: England	Midia Pilaf (Mussels Pilaf)      Origin: Armenia	Moqueca de Pixe à Baiana (Grilled Fish, Baian Style)      Origin: Brazil
Mawmenee      Origin: England	Miesmuscheln mit Curry (Mussels with Curry Sauce)      Origin: Namibia	Morel Mattar Masala      Origin: Fusion
Mayotte Pilaou      Origin: Mayotte	Mimini (Grouper and Cassava Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Moro de guandules con coco (Christmas Rice and Pigeon Peas)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Mbakhal      Origin: Senegal	Mince and Tatties      Origin: Scotland	Moroccan Braised Lamb      Origin: Morocco
MBakhal aux Arachides (MBakhal with Peanuts)      Origin: Senegal	Minutal Apicianum (Ragout à la Apicius)      Origin: Roman	Moroccan Lamb Couscous      Origin: Morocco
Mbanga Soup (Palm Nut Soup)      Origin: Cameroon	Minutal Dulce ex Citriis (Sweet Citron Ragout)      Origin: Roman	Moroccan Spiced Lamb Shanks      Origin: Morocco
Mbawa ya Tomati (Chicken wings with Tomatoes)      Origin: Mayotte	Minutal ex Iecineribus et Pulmonibus Leporis (Hare's Liver and Lights Ragout)      Origin: Roman	Morogo      Origin: South Africa
Mbaxal Dieune      Origin: Senegal	Minutal ex Praecoquis (Apricot Ragout)      Origin: Roman	Morogo Wa Dinawa (Bean Leaf Stew)      Origin: Botswana
Mboro Mboro (Sweet Potato Leaf and Palm Oil Stew)      Origin: Senegal	Minutal ex Rosis (Ragout of Roses)      Origin: Roman	Morogo with Butternut Squash      Origin: Botswana
Mboto à l'oseille (Fish with Sorrel)      Origin: Congo	Minutal Matianum (Pork with Apples)      Origin: Roman	Mortrews Blank (Meat in White Sauce)      Origin: England
Mboto à la Feuilles de Manioc (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Gabon	Minutal Terentinum (Terentine Ragout)      Origin: Roman	Moschari me Saltsa Aspri (Veal with White Sauce)      Origin: Cyprus
Mbuzi ya masala (Goat Meat Dry Fry)      Origin: Mayotte	Mirkapaya Mamsam Koora      Origin: India	Moshari me Patates (Veal with Potatoes)      Origin: Cyprus
Mchicha (Spinach, Coconut and Peanuts)      Origin: Tanzania	Miyan Kuka (Baobab Leaf Soup)      Origin: Nigeria	Moula Kawal (Kawal Sauce)      Origin: Chad
Mchuzi wa Biringani (Garden Egg Curry)      Origin: Tanzania	Miyan Kuka II (Baobab Leaf Soup II)      Origin: Nigeria
Mchuzi wa Biringani (Aubergine Curry)      Origin: Tanzania	Miyan Kuuka Soup (Fish and Baobab Leaf Powder Soup)      Origin: Ghana

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