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 2379 recipes in total:

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Madeiran Carne Vinha d'Alhos (Pork Marinated in Garlic and Wine)      Origin: Portugal	Mangoé Rafalari (Spicy Mango Stew)      Origin: Guinea	Mboto à la Feuilles de Manioc (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Gabon
Mafé      Origin: Senegal	Manhattan Seafood Stew      Origin: American	Mbuzi ya masala (Goat Meat Dry Fry)      Origin: Mayotte
Mafé Malienne (Malian Mafé)      Origin: Mali	Mani (Rice Sweet Dish)      Origin: India	Mchicha (Spinach, Coconut and Peanuts)      Origin: Tanzania
Mafé Poulet (Chicken Mafé)      Origin: Senegal	Manos de Cerdo a la Peruana (Peruvian-style Pig's Trotters)      Origin: Peru	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Garden Egg Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
mafè tatou nènn (Naked Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Manx Broth for a Wedding      Origin: Manx	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Aubergine Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Maffé de Tabaski (Maffé for Tabaski)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Marake Kaloune (Fish in Sauce)      Origin: Djibouti	Mchuzi wa Kamba (Zanzibar Prawn Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Maffe aux Legumes Arachide (Beef or Lamb in Peanut Butter)      Origin: Senegal	Maraq Bilaash (Cherry Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Somalia	Mchuzi wa Samaki (Fish Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Maffi Gumbo (Okra Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somalia	Meadow Waxcap Curry with Rice      Origin: Britain
Maffi Hakko Bangtura (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somaliland	Meatballs in Garlic Broth      Origin: Algeria
Magatla (Oxtail Casserole)      Origin: Botswana	Maraq Hilib Ari (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Somalia	Meen Moilee (Keralan Fish Curry)      Origin: India
Magimbi ya nadzi (Taro in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Mayotte	Marolaym      Origin: Mauritania	Meshoui (Moroccan Lamb)      Origin: Morocco
Maharagwe (Spiced Red Beans in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Maroumbo ya Nadzi (Tripe with Bananas)      Origin: Mayotte	Mesir Wat (Lentil Bowl)      Origin: Ethiopia
Maharggwe (Vegetables and Beans)      Origin: Burundi	Maru we-llham (Meat and Rice with Vegetables)      Origin: Mauritania	Mexican Crockpot Chili      Origin: American
Majadito (Bolivian Rice and Beef)      Origin: Bolivia	Masaaledaar Pudine wal Quimah (Minced Lamb with Mint and Spices)      Origin: India	Mexican Pork'n'Beans      Origin: American
Majboos al Laham (Lamb with Rice)      Origin: Kuwait	Masale Baath (Maharashtrian Spicy Vegetable Rice)      Origin: India	Micronesian Coconut Chicken Curry      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Makher Taukari (Fish Curry)      Origin: Bangladesh	Masaledaar Bakre ki Kaleji Gurda Phepsa (Lamb Offal Curry)      Origin: India	Micronesian Fish with Coconut Milk and Lime      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Makher Taukari II (Fish Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh	Massaman Mutton Curry      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Beef Spice Hotpot      Origin: Britain
Makke      Origin: England	Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Jambalaya      Origin: Britain
Makluba (Upside Down Dish)      Origin: Palestine	Massaman Nuea (Beef Massaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Microwave Polenta and Sausage      Origin: American
Makubi      Origin: Tanzania	Mataba au Poisson (Mataba with Fish)      Origin: Comoros	Microwave Prawn Gumbo      Origin: Britain
Malay Chicken Kurma      Origin: Malaysia	Matapa de Abóbora (Pumpkin Matapa)      Origin: Mozambique	Microwave Rabbit Stew with Dumplings      Origin: Britain
Malaysian Beriani      Origin: Malaysia	Matata (Clam and Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Microwave Spicy Mid-winter Pie      Origin: Britain
Malaysian Goat Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Matata (Clams Cooked in Port Wine)      Origin: Sao Tome	Microwave Sweet and Sour Chicken      Origin: Fusion
Malaysian Lamb Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Matsavo (Pumpkin Leaf and Peanut Flour Stew)      Origin: Mozambique	Midia Atmou me Aspro Krasi (Mussels Steamed in White Wine)      Origin: Greece
Malewa (Bamboo and Peanut Soup)      Origin: Uganda	Mauritian Prawn Curry      Origin: Mauritius	Midia Pilaf (Mussels Pilaf)      Origin: Armenia
Mallow Stew      Origin: Britain	Mawmene (Chicken in White Wine with Dates and Pine Nuts)      Origin: England	Miesmuscheln mit Curry (Mussels with Curry Sauce)      Origin: Namibia
Mallow-leaf Stew      Origin: African Fusion	Mawmenee      Origin: England	Mince and Tatties      Origin: Scotland
Malu Abulthiyal (Fish Curry with Fragrant Masala)      Origin: Sri Lanka	Mayotte Pilaou      Origin: Mayotte	Minutal Apicianum (Ragout à la Apicius)      Origin: Roman
Malvani Fish Curry      Origin: India	Mbakhal      Origin: Senegal	Minutal Dulce ex Citriis (Sweet Citron Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Malvas (Mallow Leaves)      Origin: Roman	MBakhal aux Arachides (MBakhal with Peanuts)      Origin: Senegal	Minutal ex Iecineribus et Pulmonibus Leporis (Hare's Liver and Lights Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Mămăligă (Mamaliga)      Origin: Moldova	Mbanga Soup (Palm Nut Soup)      Origin: Cameroon	Minutal ex Praecoquis (Apricot Ragout)      Origin: Roman
Mancarra with Citi (Chicken with Peanuts and Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Mbawa ya Tomati (Chicken wings with Tomatoes)      Origin: Mayotte	Minutal ex Rosis (Ragout of Roses)      Origin: Roman
Mangai Palakottai Kuzhambu (Raw Mango Jackfruit Seed Curry)      Origin: India	Mbaxal Dieune      Origin: Senegal
Mango Sauce      Origin: Nigeria	Mboto à l'oseille (Fish with Sorrel)      Origin: Congo

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