About the dish
Maafe is a stew in which peanut butter is both the main flavour and the thickener. Meat – beef, lamb or chicken – is braised with onion, garlic and tomatoes, then with peanut paste thinned in water and root vegetables such as sweet potato, cassava, carrots or pumpkin. The sauce becomes thick, velvety and slightly sweet, with heat from a whole chilli simmered in the pot. The dish is eaten across the region from Senegal and the Gambia to Mali and Guinea, under a different name in each country. It is usually served with white rice, less often with fonio or millet couscous.
Main ingredients
- peanut butter
- beef or chicken
- tomatoes
- onion
- sweet potatoes
- carrots
- chilli
Gambia: Known as domoda in the Gambia, where it is regarded as the national dish.
Guinea: Called sauce arachide or mafé in Guinea and served with rice.
Guinea-Bissau: Called caldo de mancarra in Guinea-Bissau (mancarra is Creole for peanuts).
Mali: Called tigadèguèna in Mali – Bambara for “peanut butter sauce”.
Senegal: Called mafé or tiga dege in Senegal.
More: Wikipedia (en)
