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:

Page 14 of 26

Kuku wa Nazi (Chicken with Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Lamb Paprikash      Origin: Hungary	Les haricots de Paimpol (Pampiol Beans)      Origin: France
Kukulu Musamma      Origin: Sri Lanka	Lamb Rogan Josh      Origin: India	Les Lentilles (Reunion Lentils)      Origin: Reunion
Kulish      Origin: Ukraine	Lamb Stew with Chestnuts and Pomegranates      Origin: Georgia	Les Pais au Four (Jersey Bean Crock)      Origin: Jersey
Kulu'wa (Eritrean Chopped Meat)      Origin: Eritrea	Lamb Stifado      Origin: Cyprus	Lièvre fumé à l'odika (Smoked Rabbit with Ogbono)      Origin: Gabon
Kurmanash      Origin: India	Lamb Tagine Pie      Origin: Fusion	Libata (Duck with Carrots)      Origin: DR-Congo
Kuru Fasulye      Origin: Turkey	Lamb Tagine with Artichokes      Origin: Morocco	Liberian Aubergine Stew      Origin: Liberia
Kuurdak (Stewed Meat, Onions and Potatoes)      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Lamb with New Potatoes and Coriander      Origin: Ireland	Liberian Dry Rice      Origin: Liberia
Kwahu Nsusua Abomu (Turkey Berry and Fish Stew)      Origin: Ghana	Lamb with Red Wine and Chorizo      Origin: Britain	Liberian Jollof Rice      Origin: Liberia
Kyazangi Kaukswe (Rice Noodles with Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Lamb with Spinach      Origin: Mauritius	Liberian Prawn Bisque      Origin: Liberia
Kyet tha Kar la Thar Hin (Chicken and Squash Curry)      Origin: Myanmar	Lancashire Hot Pot      Origin: England	Liberian Split Peas      Origin: Liberia
Kyinkaafa (Rice with Tomato and Dried Fish)      Origin: Ghana	Lapin au Cidre (Rabbit in Cider)      Origin: France	Liberian Succotash (Corn and Beans)      Origin: Liberia
Kyrgyz Plov      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Lapin au Vin Blanc (Rabbit with White Wine)      Origin: Gabon	Liberian-style Fried Cabbage      Origin: Liberia
Lækker mørbradgryde (Pork Tenderloin Casserole)      Origin: Denmark	Laska      Origin: Malaysia	Libyan Lamb Couscous      Origin: Libya
L'Ham Lahlou (Sweet Lamb for Ramadan)      Origin: Algeria	Lazeez Lauki (Tasty Stuffed Bottle Gourd)      Origin: India	Limón Pollo (Lemon Chicken)      Origin: Mexico
La Bandera Dominicana (The Dominican Flag)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Le Canard au tangor et à la Vanille (Clementine and Vanilla Duck)      Origin: Reunion	Lingonpäron (Lingonberry Pears)      Origin: Sweden
La Bouille du Tchad (Chadian Porridge)      Origin: Chad	Le cassoulet de la mer à la bretonne (Breton seaside cassoulet)      Origin: France	Liver and Heart Kofta Curry      Origin: India
La Capitaine Sangha (Nile Perch with Red Sauce)      Origin: Mali	Le Goundja (Fish with Aubergines and Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Central African Republic	Liver and Mushrooms with Fusilli Pasta      Origin: Italy
La Salsa de Cacahuete (Peanut Sauce)      Origin: Equatorial Guinea	Le Kondré      Origin: Cameroon	Llymru (Flummery)      Origin: Welsh
Lablabi      Origin: Tunisia	Le Me Tsolola      Origin: Comoros	Llymru Cyfoethog (Rich Flummery)      Origin: Welsh
Laganophake (Lentil Stew)      Origin: Roman	Le Ndolé Camerounais (Cameroonian Ndolé)      Origin: Cameroon	Lobio Tkemali (Red Beans with Sour Plums and Balsamic Vinegar)      Origin: Georgia
Lagman      Origin: Kyrgyzstan	Le Poulet à la Crème de Vanille (Chicken with Vanilla Sauce)      Origin: Reunion	Lobscows (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Lagman      Origin: Turkmenistan	Le Rougail Boucané (Smoked Pork Rougail)      Origin: Reunion	Lobscows #2 (Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Lahm Lhalou (Lamb Stew with Prunes)      Origin: Algeria	Leftover Turkey Fricassee      Origin: Scotland	Lobsgows Gorllewin Affrica (West African Lobscouse)      Origin: Welsh
Lahma Mu'assaga (Savoury Minced Lamb)      Origin: Egypt	Leftovers Jalfrezi with Gravy      Origin: India	Lobster Curry      Origin: Britain
Lakhou bissap      Origin: Senegal	Leftovers Lamb Ragu      Origin: Britain	Locro Argentino (Beef and Hominy Stew)      Origin: Argentina
Laksa      Origin: Malaysia	Leksour (Mauritanian-style Pancakes with Sauce)      Origin: Mauritania	Locro de papa (Ecuadorian potato and cheese soup)      Origin: Ecuador
Lale Mamoe (Samoan Lamb Curry)      Origin: Samoa	Leksour (Lamb Stew on Millet Pancakes)      Origin: Mauritania	Locro de Zapallo      Origin: Peru
Lamb and Cabbage Rolls      Origin: Britain	Lemon Chilli Chicken      Origin: Cocos Islands	Loseyns in Fysch Day (Lozenge Cakes for Fish Day)      Origin: England
Lamb Curry with Winter Vegetables and Spinach      Origin: Fusion	Lenticula (Roman Spicy Lentils)      Origin: Roman	Loubia B'dersa (Algerian Chili)      Origin: Algeria
Lamb Cutlet Casserole      Origin: Britain	Lenticula ex sphondylis (Mussels with Lentils)      Origin: Roman	Loubia bil Luz (Green Beans with Almonds)      Origin: Algeria
Lamb Dhan Saag      Origin: India	Lenticula ex Sphondylis (Lentils and Parsnips)      Origin: Roman	M'Baazi      Origin: Kenya
Lamb Jalfrezi      Origin: India	Lenticulam de castaneis (Lentils and Chestnuts)      Origin: Roman	M'Chuzi wa Nyama (Zanzibar-style Beef Curry)      Origin: Britain
Lamb Julienne with Crispy Dumplings      Origin: Britain	Lentil Curry with Japanese Knotweed and Sweet Potatoes      Origin: Fusion
Lamb Madras      Origin: India	Lentil Hashwa      Origin: UAE

Page 14 of 26