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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Cazuela Chilena (Chilean Cazuela)      Origin: Chile	Chicken Imoyo II      Origin: Nigeria	Chilli Crab      Origin: New Caledonia
Cazuela de Mariscos Chilena (Chilean Seafood Cazuela)      Origin: Chile	Chicken Kabsa      Origin: Saudi Arabia	Chipirones à la Criolla (Creole-style Squid)      Origin: Mexico
Cazuela Fiestera (Festival Casserole)      Origin: Ecuador	Chicken Machboos      Origin: Bahrain	Chitoumou      Origin: Burkina Faso
Ceebu Jën (Rice and Fish)      Origin: Senegal	Chicken Machboos      Origin: Oman	Chivichanga de Machaga      Origin: America
Celtic Pork and Apple Stew      Origin: Ancient	Chicken Machbous (Chicken Machboos)      Origin: Iraq	Chivo Guisado Liniero (Spicy Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Cennin mewn Saws Oren (Leeks in Orange Sauce)      Origin: Welsh	Chicken Madrouba      Origin: Oman	Chivo Picante (Dominican Spicy Goat)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Ceviche de Pollo (Chicken Ceviche)      Origin: Peru	Chicken Madrouba      Origin: Qatar	Choroko Sauce      Origin: Uganda
Chabéu de Carne (Meat with Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Chicken Madrouba      Origin: Bahrain	Christmas Island Beriani      Origin: Christmas Island
Chabéu de Tainha (Palm Soup of Mullet)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Chicken Makhani      Origin: Bangladesh	Christmas Island Crab Rendang      Origin: Christmas Island
Chakhchoukha      Origin: Algeria	Chicken Pepper Soup      Origin: West Africa	Chubbagin Lélé et Raabie      Origin: Mauritania
Chardwardon      Origin: England	Chicken Pepper Soup      Origin: Sierra Leone	Chubolet (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Gambia
Charquicán (Traditional Chilean Stew)      Origin: Chile	Chicken Potjie with Dumplings      Origin: Botswana	Chuño Phuti      Origin: Bolivia
Chaudage (Pork and Beef Stew)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Chicken Rice      Origin: Malaysia	Chycches (Vetches)      Origin: England
Chefy Umngqusho (Chefy Samp and Beans)      Origin: South Africa	Chicken Rice      Origin: Singapore	Chyches (Roast Chickpeas)      Origin: England
Chelo Nachodo (Chicken and Chickpea Stew with Rice)      Origin: Afghanistan	Chicken Rice      Origin: Christmas Island	Chyckenys in Caudel (Chickens in Caudle)      Origin: England
Cherupayar Curry (Whole Green Lentil Curry)      Origin: India	Chicken Seychelles      Origin: Seychelles	Chykenes in Gravey (Chicken in Gravy)      Origin: England
Chicken Afritada      Origin: Philippines	Chicken Shashlick      Origin: Pakistan	Chysanne (A Dish to be Eaten Cold)      Origin: England
Chicken and Broccoli in a Curried Yoghurt Sauce      Origin: India	Chicken Suprême      Origin: France	Cig Eidion Mewn Cwrw (Beef in Beer)      Origin: Welsh
Chicken and Dumplings      Origin: Ireland	Chicken Tagine with Honey and Apricots      Origin: Morocco	Cig Llo â Chorbys (Veal with Lentils)      Origin: Welsh
Chicken and Leek Hotpot      Origin: Ireland	Chicken Vindaloo      Origin: India	Cincinnati Chili      Origin: America
Chicken and Peanut Thai Curry      Origin: Thailand	Chicken White Curry      Origin: Sri Lanka	Cinnamon Spiced Jollof Rice      Origin: Sierra Leone
Chicken and Vegetable Curry      Origin: Senegal	Chicken with Potatoes, Tomatoes and Fennel      Origin: Ireland	Citrus Goat Meat Stew      Origin: Tanzania
Chicken Benachin      Origin: Cameroon	Chicken with Spiced Rice      Origin: Australia	Civet de Cerf (Venison Stew)      Origin: Reunion
Chicken Boileen      Origin: Saint Vincent	Chicken with Spices and Soy Sauce      Origin: Malaysia	Civet of Hare      Origin: Britain
Chicken Bonnie Prince Charlie      Origin: Scotland	Chicken-Sausage Jambalaya      Origin: Cajun	Classic Baked Beans      Origin: Britain
Chicken Curry      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Chickennat      Origin: Uganda	Classic Vindaloo Curry      Origin: India
Chicken Curry with Greens      Origin: India	Chile con Queso (Chili with Cheese)      Origin: American	Cocoa Nib Curried King Prawns      Origin: American
Chicken Curry with Potatoes      Origin: Malaysia	Chile Verde (Green Chili)      Origin: Mexico	Cocodrilo en su Salsa (Crocodile in Sauce)      Origin: Equatorial Guinea
Chicken Curry with Potatoes (FChicken Curry with Potatoes)      Origin: Cocos Islands	Chili Beans      Origin: American	Coconut Collard Greens      Origin: Puerto Rico
Chicken Curry with Potatoes      Origin: Christmas Islands	Chili Chicken      Origin: American	Coconut Crab Curry      Origin: Palau
Chicken Curry with Yams      Origin: Fusion	Chili Con Carne      Origin: Fusion	Coconut Crab Delight      Origin: Palau
Chicken Dupiaza      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Chili Con Carne II      Origin: Fusion	Coconut Crab in Coconut Milk      Origin: Pitcairn Islands
Chicken Gravy      Origin: Liberia	Chili Marrakech      Origin: Britain
Chicken Guisado      Origin: India	Chilli Crab      Origin: Singapore

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