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 2595 recipes in total:

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Karahi Machhli (White Fish Curry)      Origin: Pakistan	Kewa Phagsha (Spicy Pork with Potatoes)      Origin: Bhutan	Kokam Fish      Origin: India
Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines	Khao Man (Coconut Rice)      Origin: Brunei	Koko na Nyama (Meat with Koko)      Origin: Central African Republic
Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia	Khasi Ko Masu (Nepali Goat Meat Curry)      Origin: Nepal	Kokum Kari (Kokam Curry)      Origin: India
Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Stew)      Origin: Finland	Khatta Curry      Origin: India	Kolkas (Turkish Cypriot Chicken and Taro Stew)      Origin: Northern Cyprus
Karkandji (Hibiscus Sauce)      Origin: Chad	Khela Kalia (West Bengali Lamb Curry)      Origin: India	Kolokasi (Greek Cypriot Taro with Pork)      Origin: Cyprus
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba	Khichidi      Origin: India	Kolokitha Yiemista me Rizi (Courgette Stuffed with Rice)      Origin: Cyprus
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Bonaire	Khichiri      Origin: India	Komprek Eromba (Water Dropwort Eromba)      Origin: India
Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Khnom Jin Namya (Catfish Curry over Noodles)      Origin: Thailand	Kondré de Porc (Kondré of Pork)      Origin: Cameroon
Karni Stobá (Curaçao Stewed Beef)      Origin: Curacao	Khoodra Mafrooka      Origin: Sudan	Konkoé Turé Gbéli (Smoked Catfish Stew with Vegetables)      Origin: Guinea
Karni Stobá (Sint Eustatian Stewed Beef)      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Khoresh B'Amieh (Okra Stew)      Origin: Iran	Kontomire Stew (Cocoyam Leaf Stew)      Origin: Ghana
Kashmiri Chicken Curry      Origin: India	Khoresht Rivas (Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew)      Origin: Iran	Koozy II (Leg of Lamb)      Origin: Iraq
Katakou au Poisson Frais (Palm Soup Base with Fresh Fish)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Khoresht-e Gheymeh (Persian Lamb Stew with Dried Limes and Split Peas)      Origin: Iran	Kopto à l'arachide (Kopto in Peanut Sauce)      Origin: Niger
Katami Satsabeli Baga (Duck in Georgian Walnut Sauce)      Origin: Georgia	Khoresht-e Loobia (Stewed Mutton with String Beans)      Origin: Iran	Korean-flavoured Lamb Shanks with Swede and Potato Mash      Origin: Fusion
Katogo (Beans with Cassava)      Origin: Uganda	Khoresht-e Zereshk (Barberry, Lamb and Nut Stew)      Origin: Iran	Korean-inspired Pollock Stew with Gochujang and Wild Greens      Origin: Korea
Kebab Halla (Stewed Beef)      Origin: Egypt	Khoreshte Kalal (Lamb Stew with Barberry Sauce)      Origin: Iran	Koshari (Lentils, Pasta and Rice)      Origin: Egypt
Kebbeh Kunda Benachin      Origin: Gambia	Khormya (Spiced Lamb with Yoghurt)      Origin: Kazakhstan	Kosksu bil-Ful (Couscous with Broad Beans)      Origin: Malta
Kede in Bokenade (Kid Goat in Sauce)      Origin: England	Khumbi Aloo (Mushroom and Potato Curry)      Origin: India	Kotor Bay Stewed Fish      Origin: Montenegro
Kedgeree 2      Origin: Fusion	Kibeba (Cassava and Cuttlefish Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Koumrangan      Origin: Chad
Kedjenou      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kid Goat Korma      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Koumrangan avec Patte d'Arachide (Koumrangan with Peanut Paste)      Origin: Chad
Kedjenou (Guineafowl Kedjenou)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kig ha Farz (Meat with Stuffing)      Origin: France	Kouneli Stifado (Rabbit Stew)      Origin: Greece
Kedjenou II      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kilmeny Kail      Origin: Scotland	Koupepia (Stuffed Vine Leaves)      Origin: Cyprus
Kefta dyal Ghriba (Synagogue Koftas)      Origin: Tunisia	Kingklip and Prawn Biryani      Origin: South Africa	Koushari (Lentils, Macaroni and Rice in Oil)      Origin: Egypt
Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)      Origin: Greece	Kiribati Coconut Crab Curry      Origin: Kiribati	Koushry (Rice with Lentils)      Origin: Egypt
Kejenou avec Agouti (Kejenou with Cane Rat)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Kishke (Stuffed Derma)      Origin: Uzbekistan	Kozi Ishtu (Keralan Chicken Ishtu)      Origin: India
Kekefia (Plantain Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria	Kishmish Vashli Tolma      Origin: Armenia	Kpalugu Beef      Origin: Ghana
Kelenkelen (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Cameroon	Kissra be Omregayga      Origin: Sudan	Krain Krain (Jute Leaf Stew)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Keleya Zaara (Tunisian Lamb with Saffron)      Origin: Tunisia	Kjötsúpa (Icelandic Lamb Stew)      Origin: Iceland	Kuah Kuning (Yellow Gravy Soup)      Origin: Papua
Kenkey      Origin: Ghana	Kjufteta Po Cirpanski (Meatballs and Potatoes)      Origin: Bulgaria	Kuba (Mushroom and Barley Casserole)      Origin: Czech
Kenyan Chicken Tikka      Origin: Kenya	Kobi Bhaji      Origin: India	Kubani (Dried Apricot Dessert)      Origin: India
Kenyan Matoke      Origin: Britain	Kobi Keema (Cabbage and Minced Meat Curry)      Origin: India	Kuka Soup      Origin: Nigeria
Kereviz Geragoor (Celery Stew)      Origin: Armenia	Kobi Sabji (Cabbage Sabji)      Origin: India	Kuku (Chicken)      Origin: Kenya
Kerrie-aartappels en Uie (Curried Potatoes and Onions)      Origin: South Africa	Kodoyo (Fish with Baobab Leaves)      Origin: Togo	Kuku Paka (Chicken-coconut Curry)      Origin: East Africa
Kerrieboontjies (South African Curried Beans)      Origin: South Africa	Koenigsberger Klopse (German Meatballs)      Origin: Germany
Kewa Datshi (Potatoes with Cheese)      Origin: Bhutan	Kohl Westfalisch (Westphalian Cabbage II)      Origin: Germany

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