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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Môr-leisiad wedi Potsio gyda Nionyn, Cennin a Ffenigl (Poached Pollack with Onion, Leek and Fennel)      Origin: Welsh	Makher Taukari II (Fish Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh	Masaledaar Bakre ki Kaleji Gurda Phepsa (Lamb Offal Curry)      Origin: India
M'borokhé (Peanut Sauce with Spinach)      Origin: Mali	Makke      Origin: England	Massaman Mutton Curry      Origin: Thailand
M'tsolola (Fish and Plantain stew in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Comoros	Makluba (Upside Down Dish)      Origin: Palestine	Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand
Maafé      Origin: Mali	Makubi      Origin: Tanzania	Massaman Nuea (Beef Massaman Curry)      Origin: Thailand
Maafe (Meat Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Malay Chicken Kurma      Origin: Malaysia	Mataba au Poisson (Mataba with Fish)      Origin: Comoros
Macanese-style Portuguese Curry Chicken      Origin: Macau	Malaysian Beriani      Origin: Malaysia	Matapa      Origin: Mozambique
Machaca (Mexican Shredded Beef)      Origin: Mexico	Malaysian Goat Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Matapa de Abóbora (Pumpkin Matapa)      Origin: Mozambique
Machboos Laham      Origin: Kuwait	Malaysian Lamb Rendang      Origin: Malaysia	Matata (Clam and Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mozambique
Macher Jhol (Keralan Fish Curry)      Origin: India	Malewa (Bamboo and Peanut Soup)      Origin: Uganda	Matata (Clam, Pumpkin and Peanut Stew)      Origin: Sao Tome
Machli aur Tamatar (Curried Halibut with Tomatoes)      Origin: India	Mallow Stew      Origin: Britain	Matata (Clams Cooked in Port Wine)      Origin: Sao Tome
Machli ka Salna (Fish Steak Curry)      Origin: India	Mallow-leaf Stew      Origin: African Fusion	Matsavo (Pumpkin Leaf and Peanut Flour Stew)      Origin: Mozambique
Mackerel and Samphire Stew      Origin: Britain	Malu Abulthiyal (Fish Curry with Fragrant Masala)      Origin: Sri Lanka	Mauritian Prawn Curry      Origin: Mauritius
Mackerel in Breadfruit Gravy      Origin: Liberia	Malvani Fish Curry      Origin: India	Mawmene (Chicken in White Wine with Dates and Pine Nuts)      Origin: England
Mackerel Run Down      Origin: Jamaica	Malvas (Mallow Leaves)      Origin: Roman	Mawmenee      Origin: England
Mada (Green Banana Dumplings)      Origin: Norfolk Island	Mămăligă (Mamaliga)      Origin: Moldova	Mayotte Pilaou      Origin: Mayotte
Madaba (Cassava Leaf and Coconut Stew)      Origin: Britain	Mancarra with Citi (Chicken with Peanuts and Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau	Mbakhal      Origin: Senegal
Madeiran Carne Vinha d'Alhos (Pork Marinated in Garlic and Wine)      Origin: Portugal	Mangai Palakottai Kuzhambu (Raw Mango Jackfruit Seed Curry)      Origin: India	MBakhal aux Arachides (MBakhal with Peanuts)      Origin: Senegal
Mafé      Origin: Senegal	Mangalorean Spinach and Black Eyed Beans Curry      Origin: India	Mbanga Soup (Palm Nut Soup)      Origin: Cameroon
Mafé Malienne (Malian Mafé)      Origin: Mali	Mango Sauce      Origin: Nigeria	Mbaqanga (Bean and Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: South Africa
Mafé Poulet (Chicken Mafé)      Origin: Senegal	Mangoé Rafalari (Spicy Mango Stew)      Origin: Guinea	Mbawa ya Tomati (Chicken wings with Tomatoes)      Origin: Mayotte
mafè tatou nènn (Naked Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Manhattan Seafood Stew      Origin: American	Mbaxal Dieune      Origin: Senegal
Maffé de Tabaski (Maffé for Tabaski)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Mani (Rice Sweet Dish)      Origin: India	Mboro Mboro (Sweet Potato Leaf and Palm Oil Stew)      Origin: Senegal
Maffé Mauritanienne (Aubergines and Pumpkin)      Origin: Mauritania	Manos de Cerdo a la Peruana (Peruvian-style Pig's Trotters)      Origin: Peru	Mboto à l'oseille (Fish with Sorrel)      Origin: Congo
Maffe aux Legumes Arachide (Beef or Lamb in Peanut Butter)      Origin: Senegal	Manx Broth for a Wedding      Origin: Manx	Mboto à la Feuilles de Manioc (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Gabon
Maffi Gumbo (Okra Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Marake Kaloune (Fish in Sauce)      Origin: Djibouti	Mboto aux Champignons (Fish with Mushrooms)      Origin: Congo
Maffi Hakko Bangtura (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea	Maraq Bilaash (Cherry Tomato Sauce)      Origin: Somalia	MBoume au Néverdaye (Senegalese Fish, Peanut and Cassava Stew with Millet Couscous)      Origin: Senegal
Magatla (Oxtail Casserole)      Origin: Botswana	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somalia	Mbuzi ya masala (Goat Meat Dry Fry)      Origin: Mayotte
Magimbi ya nadzi (Taro in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Mayotte	Maraq Fahfah (Somali Soup)      Origin: Somaliland	Mchicha (Spinach, Coconut and Peanuts)      Origin: Tanzania
Maharagwe (Spiced Red Beans in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Maraq Hilib Ari (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Somalia	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Garden Egg Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Maharggwe (Vegetables and Beans)      Origin: Burundi	Marolaym      Origin: Mauritania	Mchuzi wa Biringani (Aubergine Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Majadito (Bolivian Rice and Beef)      Origin: Bolivia	Maroumbo ya Nadzi (Tripe with Bananas)      Origin: Mayotte	Mchuzi wa Kamba (Zanzibar Prawn Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Majboos al Laham (Lamb with Rice)      Origin: Kuwait	Maru we-llham (Meat and Rice with Vegetables)      Origin: Mauritania	Mchuzi wa Samaki (Fish Curry)      Origin: Tanzania
Majoranas Tokany (Beef with Marjoram)      Origin: Hungary	Masaaledaar Pudine wal Quimah (Minced Lamb with Mint and Spices)      Origin: India
Makher Taukari (Fish Curry)      Origin: Bangladesh	Masale Baath (Maharashtrian Spicy Vegetable Rice)      Origin: India

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