[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":422},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:senegalese-mafe":3,"recipe:country:senegal":205},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":39,"serveWith":49,"storage":51,"faq":52,"equipment":68,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":76,"diet":78,"mainIngredients":81,"ingredients":87,"instructions":151,"nutrition":182,"images":191,"keywords":195,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"senegalese-mafe","Mafé (Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew)","Maafe","mah-FAY","senegal","Sine-Saloum","🥜","Beef simmered slowly with groundnut paste, tomato and root vegetables until the oil rises to the surface and the sauce turns thick, savoury and only just sweet.","Mafé is a groundnut stew, and the groundnut is doing something quite different here from what peanut butter does in a satay sauce. Whisked into tomato-heavy broth and cooked for well over an hour, it stops tasting like peanuts and becomes a thick, brick-coloured gravy that is savoury first, faintly sweet second, with the roasted note sitting underneath everything. Beef or lamb goes soft in it, cassava and sweet potato absorb it, and the finished pot is ladled over white rice in quantities that surprise people the first time. The doneness signal is unmistakable: orange oil separating and pooling on the surface.","The dish is Mandinka in origin, from the interior belt that spans Mali, Guinea and eastern Senegal, where it is known as tigadegena — literally groundnut sauce. It travelled with traders and with the groundnut itself, which is not native to Africa at all but arrived from South America through Portuguese trade and then took over enormous stretches of Sahelian farmland. By the colonial period Senegal was so committed to the crop that historians describe an entire groundnut economy around Kaolack and the Sine-Saloum, with the paste becoming a pantry staple in every household along the way.\n\nThat history explains why mafé now exists in dozens of national versions with real differences between them. Malian tigadegena tends to be looser and more sharply tomato-forward. Ivorian and Guinean versions push more chilli. Senegalese mafé is usually the thickest and the most vegetable-heavy, with cassava, sweet potato, carrot and often a wedge of cabbage cooked right in the sauce until they are soft enough to break with a spoon. Gambian cooks make a near-identical pot and would tell you theirs came first.\n\nThe groundnut paste sold in West African markets is unsweetened, unsalted and coarse — literally roasted peanuts ground to a paste and nothing else. Supermarket peanut butter can stand in, but the sweetened, emulsified kind will make the stew cloying and can stop the oil from breaking out properly, which matters because that separation is how Senegalese cooks judge whether a mafé is finished. A pot that has not released its oil is a pot that has not cooked long enough.",[15,16,17,18],"Loosens the groundnut paste with hot broth before it goes near the pot, so it never seizes into lumps.","Cooks long enough for the oil to break out, the signal Senegalese cooks actually use to call a mafé done.","Times the root vegetables separately so the cassava is tender and the sweet potato has not disintegrated.","Tells you exactly which peanut butter works and which one ruins the sauce.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Buy unsweetened, unsalted natural peanut butter with nothing on the label but peanuts, or find true groundnut paste at an African grocer. Sugar in the jar is the most common cause of a sickly mafé.","Brown the meat properly in batches. Crowding the pan steams the beef grey, and mafé has no other source of roasted depth beyond the groundnut itself.","Whisk the paste into a ladleful of hot broth in a separate bowl until it is smooth and pourable, then stir that back in. Spooning it straight into the pot gives you lumps you will never fully break up.","Keep the heat low once the paste is in and stir the bottom every 10 minutes — groundnut sauce scorches faster than any tomato sauce and the burnt taste cannot be rescued.","When a slick of orange oil rises to the surface and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, it is done. Skim some of the oil off if you like, but leave a little; it carries the flavour.","If the sauce tightens too much before the meat is tender, loosen it with hot water rather than cold, which shocks the emulsion and can make it grainy.",[27,31,35],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Groundnut paste","250 g natural unsweetened peanut butter, smooth or crunchy","Crunchy works fine and adds a little texture. Stir the jar thoroughly before measuring if the oil has separated on the shelf.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Beef chuck","Lamb shoulder, mutton, or bone-in chicken thighs","Lamb is the most common alternative in Senegal. Chicken needs only 35 minutes of simmering rather than 75, so add the vegetables much earlier.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Cassava","Waxy potato or yam, cut the same size","Cassava has a denser, slightly waxy bite that potato does not reproduce, but the stew still works. Frozen cassava chunks are widely sold and are perfectly good here.",[40,43,46],{"name":41,"description":42},"Mafé tiga with lamb","Lamb shoulder on the bone instead of beef, which gives a fattier, more perfumed sauce and needs slightly less added oil at the start.",{"name":44,"description":45},"Vegetarian mafé","Skip the meat and build the pot on cassava, sweet potato, carrot, cabbage and chickpeas, using vegetable stock. Add a spoon of tomato paste extra to make up the missing depth.",{"name":47,"description":48},"Mafé with okra","Whole okra pods dropped in for the last 10 minutes, common in the south. They thicken the sauce slightly and add a green, grassy edge.",[50],"White rice, or fonio if you can find it, with a bowl of the sauce poured over rather than served beside.","Mafé keeps 4 days refrigerated and is better on day two, once the groundnut and tomato have settled into each other. The sauce sets solid when cold — reheat gently with a splash of hot water, stirring until it flows again. It freezes for 3 months, though the cassava can turn slightly grainy on thawing, so some cooks freeze the sauce and meat only and cook fresh vegetables into it on reheating.",[53,56,59,62,65],{"question":54,"answer":55},"Can I use ordinary supermarket peanut butter?","Yes, provided it is the natural kind whose ingredients list is peanuts and perhaps salt. Sweetened, hydrogenated peanut butter makes the stew taste like dessert and its added emulsifiers interfere with the oil separating, which is how you judge doneness. Check the label rather than the brand.",{"question":57,"answer":58},"Why is my mafé bitter?","Usually scorching. Groundnut paste sinks to the bottom of the pot and catches quickly, so once it goes in the heat must stay low and the base needs scraping every 10 minutes with a flat wooden spoon. Undercooked tomato paste can also read as bitter, so fry it until it darkens before adding liquid.",{"question":60,"answer":61},"How thick should the sauce be?","Thick enough to coat a spoon and hold a channel when you draw a spoon across the bottom of the pot, but still pourable over rice. If it is closer to porridge, thin it with hot water; if it stays watery after the vegetables are done, simmer uncovered until it tightens.",{"question":63,"answer":64},"Is mafé safe for someone with a peanut allergy?","No, and there is no way to adapt it — groundnut paste is the entire basis of the sauce. Cooks sometimes suggest sunflower seed butter or tahini as a substitute, which produces an edible stew but not mafé. If you are cooking for a peanut allergy, choose yassa or a tomato-based ceeb instead.",{"question":66,"answer":67},"Can I make mafé in a pressure cooker?","You can cook the meat under pressure for about 25 minutes with the tomato base and broth, then release, stir in the loosened groundnut paste and simmer uncovered with the vegetables. Do not pressure-cook the groundnut paste itself — it thickens fast, sits on the base and scorches where you cannot see it.",[69,70,71],"Heavy Dutch oven or casserole with a lid","Whisk","Flat wooden spoon for scraping the base",6,25,100,"medium",[77],"main",[79,80],"dairy-free","halal-friendly",[82,83,84,85,86],"beef-chuck","peanut-butter","cassava","sweet-potato","tomato-paste",[88,93,97,102,107,112,114,117,122,125,128,132,136,139,142,146],{"ref":82,"qty":89,"unit":90,"name":91,"group":92},1,"kg","beef chuck or shin, in 4 cm cubes","For the stew",{"qty":94,"unit":95,"name":96,"group":92},3,"tbsp","groundnut oil",{"ref":98,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":101,"group":92},"onion",2,"piece","large onions, finely chopped",{"ref":103,"qty":104,"unit":105,"name":106,"group":92},"garlic",4,"clove","garlic, crushed",{"ref":108,"qty":109,"unit":110,"name":111,"group":92},"ginger",15,"g","fresh ginger, grated",{"ref":86,"qty":104,"unit":95,"name":113,"group":92},"tomato paste",{"ref":115,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":116,"group":92},"tomato","ripe tomatoes, chopped",{"ref":118,"qty":119,"unit":120,"name":121,"group":92},"stock",1.2,"l","beef stock or water",{"ref":123,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":124,"group":92},"bay-leaf","bay leaves",{"ref":126,"qty":89,"unit":100,"name":127,"group":92},"scotch-bonnet","scotch bonnet, left whole",{"ref":83,"qty":129,"unit":110,"name":130,"group":131},250,"unsweetened groundnut paste or natural peanut butter","For the sauce",{"ref":84,"qty":133,"unit":110,"name":134,"group":135},400,"cassava, peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks","For the vegetables",{"ref":85,"qty":137,"unit":110,"name":138,"group":135},350,"sweet potato, in thick chunks",{"ref":140,"qty":94,"unit":100,"name":141,"group":135},"carrot","carrots, in thick diagonal slices",{"ref":143,"qty":144,"unit":110,"name":145,"group":135},"cabbage",300,"white cabbage, in wedges through the core",{"qty":147,"unit":148,"name":149,"group":150},null,"to taste","salt and black pepper","To finish",[152,157,161,165,169,174,179],{"title":153,"text":154,"timerSeconds":155,"tip":156},"Brown the beef","Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over high heat and brown the cubes in three uncrowded batches, about 4 minutes a batch, until each piece has a dark crust on at least two sides. Lift them out onto a plate.",720,"If the pan hisses quietly and the meat releases water, the batch is too big. Take half out and carry on.",{"title":158,"text":159,"timerSeconds":160},"Build the tomato base","Lower the heat to medium, add the onions to the same pot and cook for 8 minutes until soft and translucent, scraping up the brown crust from the beef. Stir in the garlic, ginger and tomato paste and fry for 5 minutes more, until the paste darkens to rust and smells sweet rather than metallic.",780,{"title":162,"text":163,"timerSeconds":164},"Simmer the meat","Return the beef with its juices, add the chopped tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and the whole scotch bonnet, and bring to a boil. Cover, drop to a low simmer and cook for 45 minutes, until the beef gives a little when pressed but is not yet falling apart.",2700,{"title":166,"text":167,"tip":168},"Loosen and add the groundnut paste","Ladle 300 ml of the hot broth into a bowl, add the groundnut paste and whisk until completely smooth and the colour of milky coffee. Pour it back into the pot and stir well, then keep it at the barest simmer with the lid off.","The mixture in the bowl should pour like double cream. If it stays stiff, whisk in more hot broth before it goes back.",{"title":170,"text":171,"timerSeconds":172,"tip":173},"Add the vegetables in order","Add the cassava and carrots and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring the base every few minutes, then add the sweet potato and cabbage and cook for a further 20 minutes, until a knife goes through the cassava without resistance.",1200,"Stir with a flat wooden spoon along the bottom of the pot. Groundnut paste settles and catches there without any warning smell until it is too late.",{"title":175,"text":176,"timerSeconds":177,"tip":178},"Cook to oil separation","Keep simmering gently until a slick of orange oil rises across the surface and the sauce coats the back of a spoon thickly, usually 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the chilli and bay leaves, taste and correct the salt.",900,"No oil on top means it is not finished. Give it another 10 minutes on a low flame before you decide something is wrong.",{"title":180,"text":181},"Serve over rice","Spoon white rice into wide bowls, break the beef and vegetables over it, and ladle the sauce across the top until the rice is properly flooded. Put the whole cooked chilli on the table for anyone who wants to crush it into their own bowl.",{"calories":183,"protein":184,"carbs":185,"fat":186,"fiber":187,"sugar":188,"sodium":189,"estimated":190},690,40,45,38,8,11,760,true,[192],{"src":193,"alt":194},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-mafe\u002Fhero.svg","Thick rust-orange groundnut stew with chunks of beef, cassava and carrot, oil pooling on the surface, beside white rice",[196,197,198,199,200,201,202],"mafe","maafe","groundnut stew","peanut stew","tigadegena","senegalese beef","west african","2026-08-20","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":206,"total":212,"page":89,"limit":420,"hasMore":421},[207,236,260,281,288,308,331,354,377,399],{"slug":208,"title":209,"nativeName":210,"countrySlug":8,"region":211,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":212,"cookMinutes":109,"restMinutes":213,"difficulty":214,"course":215,"diet":217,"mainIngredients":222,"images":225,"keywords":229,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"bissap","Bissap (Senegalese Hibiscus Iced Drink)","Bissap","Dakar",10,90,"easy",[216],"drink",[218,219,220,79,221],"vegetarian","vegan","gluten-free","nut-free",[223,224],"mint","lime",[226],{"src":227,"alt":228},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbissap\u002Fhero.svg","Tall glass of deep ruby hibiscus drink over ice with a mint sprig, jug of the same drink behind it",[208,230,231,232,233,234,235],"hibiscus drink","sorrel","flor de jamaica","senegalese drink","iced tea","caffeine-free",{"slug":237,"title":238,"nativeName":239,"countrySlug":8,"region":211,"baseServings":104,"prepMinutes":240,"cookMinutes":241,"restMinutes":242,"difficulty":214,"course":243,"diet":245,"mainIngredients":246,"images":249,"keywords":253,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"dibi","Dibi (Senegalese Charcoal-Grilled Lamb with Onions)","Dibi",20,30,120,[244,77],"street-food",[79,80],[247,98,248],"lamb","lemon",[250],{"src":251,"alt":252},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fdibi\u002Fhero.svg","Chopped charred lamb pieces on paper covered with pale softened onions, torn baguette beside the tray",[237,254,255,256,257,258,259],"dibiterie","grilled lamb","senegalese barbecue","charcoal lamb","mustard onions","street food",{"slug":261,"title":262,"nativeName":263,"countrySlug":8,"region":211,"baseServings":104,"prepMinutes":185,"cookMinutes":241,"restMinutes":241,"difficulty":75,"course":264,"diet":266,"mainIngredients":268,"images":271,"keywords":275,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"fataya","Fataya (Senegalese Fried Fish Turnovers)","Fataya",[244,265],"snack",[267,79],"pescatarian",[269,270,98,224],"white-fish","flour",[272],{"src":273,"alt":274},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ffataya\u002Fhero.svg","Golden fork-crimped half-moon pastries stacked on a plate beside a bowl of raw onion and chilli lime sauce",[261,276,277,278,279,280],"fish turnover","senegalese pastry","kaani sauce","west african street food","fried snack",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":282,"diet":283,"mainIngredients":284,"images":285,"keywords":287,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},[77],[79,80],[82,83,84,85,86],[286],{"src":193,"alt":194},[196,197,198,199,200,201,202],{"slug":289,"title":290,"nativeName":291,"countrySlug":8,"region":211,"baseServings":104,"prepMinutes":109,"cookMinutes":292,"restMinutes":293,"difficulty":214,"course":294,"diet":296,"mainIngredients":297,"images":298,"keywords":302,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"ndambe","Ndambé (Senegalese Bean Stew Sandwich)","Ndambe",75,480,[295,244],"breakfast",[218,219,79],[98,115,86,126],[299],{"src":300,"alt":301},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fndambe\u002Fhero.svg","Split baguette filled with dark red-brown cowpea stew, scallions scattered over the top, held over paper wrapping",[289,303,304,305,306,307],"bean sandwich","black-eyed peas","senegalese breakfast","dakar street food","vegan west african",{"slug":309,"title":310,"nativeName":311,"countrySlug":8,"region":312,"baseServings":104,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":313,"restMinutes":314,"difficulty":214,"course":315,"diet":316,"mainIngredients":317,"images":319,"keywords":323,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"senegalese-poulet-yassa","Poulet Yassa (Senegalese Lemon and Onion Chicken)","Yassa ginaar","Casamance",55,240,[77],[79,80],[318,98,248],"chicken",[320],{"src":321,"alt":322},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-poulet-yassa\u002Fhero.svg","Browned chicken pieces buried in a tangle of softened golden onions with lemon wedges and white rice alongside",[324,325,326,327,328,329,330],"poulet yassa","yassa chicken","lemon chicken","onion sauce","senegalese","casamance","west african braise",{"slug":332,"title":333,"nativeName":334,"countrySlug":8,"region":312,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":241,"cookMinutes":335,"difficulty":75,"course":336,"diet":338,"mainIngredients":339,"images":343,"keywords":347,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"soupou-kandia","Soupou Kandia (Senegalese Okra and Palm Oil Stew)","Soupu kanja",50,[337,77],"soup",[267,79,220],[340,269,341,342],"okra","shrimp","rice",[344],{"src":345,"alt":346},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsoupou-kandia\u002Fhero.svg","Deep orange okra and palm oil stew with fish pieces and shrimp, ladled over a mound of white rice in a bowl",[348,349,350,351,352,353],"soupou kandia","okra stew","palm oil","senegalese seafood","west african okra","soupu kanja",{"slug":355,"title":356,"nativeName":357,"countrySlug":8,"region":211,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":109,"cookMinutes":73,"restMinutes":242,"difficulty":214,"course":358,"diet":360,"mainIngredients":361,"images":366,"keywords":370,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"thiakry","Thiakry (Senegalese Millet Couscous Yogurt Dessert)","Caakiri",[359],"dessert",[218,220,221],[362,363,364,365],"millet","yogurt","condensed-milk","nutmeg",[367],{"src":368,"alt":369},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fthiakry\u002Fhero.svg","Glass of thick pale millet and yoghurt dessert speckled with grated nutmeg, a long spoon resting inside",[355,371,372,373,374,375,376],"caakiri","degue","millet dessert","yogurt pudding","senegalese sweet","no-bake",{"slug":378,"title":379,"nativeName":380,"romanized":381,"countrySlug":8,"region":382,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":184,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":383,"course":384,"diet":385,"mainIngredients":386,"images":388,"keywords":392,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"senegalese-thieboudienne","Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish and Broken Rice)","Ceebu jën","Ceebu jen","Saint-Louis","hard",[77],[267,79],[269,342,84,143,387],"tamarind",[389],{"src":390,"alt":391},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thieboudienne\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of orange broken rice topped with fish steaks, cassava, carrot and cabbage wedges with a whole red chilli",[393,394,395,396,202,397,398],"thieboudienne","ceebu jen","senegalese fish rice","broken rice","national dish","one pot",{"slug":400,"title":401,"nativeName":402,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":241,"cookMinutes":403,"difficulty":75,"course":404,"diet":405,"mainIngredients":406,"images":408,"keywords":412,"publishedAt":203,"updatedAt":203,"authorSlug":204},"senegalese-thiere","Thiéré Bassi Salté (Senegalese Millet Couscous with Lamb)","Cere basi salte",95,[77],[79,80],[247,407,143,140],"couscous",[409],{"src":410,"alt":411},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thiere\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of pale millet couscous hollowed in the centre and filled with lamb, pumpkin, cabbage and carrot in red sauce",[413,414,415,416,417,418,419],"thiere","bassi salte","millet couscous","senegalese lamb","nététou","steamed grain","celebration dish",24,false,1787360054505]