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Maafé

Maafé is a traditional Malian recipe for a stew of beef or goat meat in a chilli, peanut butter, beef stock and tomato puree base with carrots. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Malian version of: Maafé.

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

80 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesSpice RecipesBeef RecipesMali Recipes

Just like jollof rice ultimately originated in Senegal, but became popular and varied across West Africa. Mafé/Maafé originates in Mali, but it is also extremely popular in Senegal, Mauritania (where it's typically cooked with aubergine) and The Gambia. It has also been transplanted to Ghana where it's made with hard-boiled eggs (added towards the end of cooking) rather than meat. You will also encounter Mafé in Cameroon. In Senagal pale Zeebu cow meat is typically used though in Mali goat is more common. You could use beef, lamb, goat or mutton just as readily. In reality, this is a spicy peanut soup base in which the meat is cooked. I've seen many Anglo versions of this recipe that omit the chillies... which really is a no... no... However, if you encounter the authentic versions in Mali, Senegal (or even increasingly in France) there will always be fresh hot chilli included (never dried). For a cheaper version you can add sweet potatoes and turnip pieces to reduce the amount of meat (this would be the typical 'street' version of the dish as you would get sold by street vendors during lunchtime in Dakar, Senegal).

Ingredients:

1kg (2 lbs) beef stewing meat (or lamb or goat), cut into 3 cm (1 in) dice
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Scotch bonnet chilli (you can either keep whole during the cooking process or add chopped)
4 garlic cloves, minced
120g (1/2 cup) creamy peanut butter
120ml dark beef stock
5 tbsp tomato purée
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3cm (1 in) pieces
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp peanut oil
Salt and freshly-ground Black pepper, to taste

Method:

If you don't want the dish overly spiced keep the chilli whole and remove at the end of cooking (note however, that the peanut butter will reduce the chilli effect significantly). If you have a high tolerance to chilli heat, two Scotch Bonnet chillies might be needed to yield the appropriate 'kick'.

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, add the onion, and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, until soft and translucent but not coloured. Add the garlic and chopped chilli and cook for 1 minute.

Now add the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned on all sides.

In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter with the beef stock, 300ml (1 1/4 cups) warm water and the tomato purée. Beat until smooth then pour over the meat. Now pour over 500ml (2 cups) hot water. Stir well to combine and bring just to a boil.

Add all the remaining ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer (add the whole chilli at this point). Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender.


Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Serve hot on a bed of white rice.