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 1816 recipes in total:

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Igisafuliya (Chicken Plantain and Vegetable Stew)      Origin: Rwanda	Iwuk Efere      Origin: Nigeria	Kaninchengeschnetzeltes (Liechtenstein-style Rabbit Stew)      Origin: Liechtenstein
Igitoke      Origin: Rwanda	Jackfruit Kofta Curry      Origin: India	Kansiyé      Origin: Guinea
Ignames à la Tomate (Yams with Tomatoes)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Jamaican Curried Jackfruit      Origin: Jamaica	Kansiyé avec 'Mafe' (Smoked Chicken in Peanut Sauce with Mashed Plantains)      Origin: Guinea
Igra Stobá (Liver Stew)      Origin: Bonaire	Jamaican Jerk Jackfruit      Origin: Jamaica	Kansiyé de Poisson (Fish Kansiyé)      Origin: Guinea
Igra Stobá (Liver Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Jamaican Mutton and Lime Leaf      Origin: Jamaica	Kansiyé de Poulet (Chicken Kansiyé)      Origin: Guinea
Ijogó (Cabbage and Smoked Fish Stew)      Origin: Sao Tome	Jamaican Prawn Curry      Origin: Jamaica	Kaoteriad (Breton Fish Stew)      Origin: France
Ila (Okra)      Origin: Nigeria	Jamaican Seafood Soup      Origin: Jamaica	Kapenta      Origin: Zambia
Imoyo Eba      Origin: Nigeria	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Bonaire	Kapr na černo (Carp in Black Sauce)      Origin: Czech
In Echino (Of Sea Urchins)      Origin: Roman	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Curacao	Karē Raisu (Japanese Curry Rice)      Origin: Japan
In mitulis (Mussels)      Origin: Roman	Jarret de Boeuf      Origin: Chad	Karahi Machhli (White Fish Curry)      Origin: Pakistan
In perdice (Boiled Partridge)      Origin: Roman	Jasha Maroo (Minced Chicken Tshoem)      Origin: Bhutan	Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines
In Vitulinam Elixam (Boiled Veal)      Origin: Roman	Java Chicken      Origin: Fusion	Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia
In Vulva [et] Sterili ([Sauce] for Sterile Sow's Womb)      Origin: Roman	Jollof Rice with Chicken, Beef, and Ham      Origin: Ghana	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Aruba
Indonesian Peanut Sauce      Origin: Indonesia	Joues de porc confites au cidre (Confit of Pork Cheeks in Cider)      Origin: France	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Bonaire
Inyama Yenkukhu (South African Chicken Casserole)      Origin: South Africa	Joutes of almannd mylk (Herb Pottage with Almond Milk)      Origin: England	Karko Stobá (Queen Conch Stew)      Origin: Curacao
Irio      Origin: Kenya	Jugged Pigeons      Origin: Britain	Karni Stobá (Curaçao Stewed Beef)      Origin: Curacao
Irish Beef In Guinness      Origin: Ireland	Kabaro au Carry (Malagasy Curried Beans)      Origin: Madagascar	Karni Stobá (Sint Eustatian Stewed Beef)      Origin: Sint Eustatius
Irish Beef Stew      Origin: Ireland	Kabritu Stoba (Stewed Kid Goat)      Origin: Aruba	Kashmiri Chicken Curry      Origin: India
Irish Cabbage Parcels      Origin: Ireland	Kabritu Stobá (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Saba	Katakou au Poisson Frais (Palm Soup Base with Fresh Fish)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Irish Carbonnade      Origin: Ireland	Kabritu Stobá (Goat Meat Stew)      Origin: Curacao	Katogo (Beans with Cassava)      Origin: Uganda
Irish Coddled Pork with Cider      Origin: Ireland	Kachumbari      Origin: Rwanda	Kebab Halla (Stewed Beef)      Origin: Egypt
Irish Farm Broth      Origin: Ireland	Kadala Curry      Origin: India	Kebbeh Kunda Benachin      Origin: Gambia
Irish Fisherman's Stew      Origin: Ireland	Kadhai Gosht      Origin: Pakistan	Kede in Bokenade (Kid Goat in Sauce)      Origin: England
Irish Hot Pot      Origin: Ireland	Kådun Pika (Spicy Chicken)      Origin: Guam	Kedgeree 2      Origin: Fusion
Irish Lamb and Potato Curry      Origin: Ireland	Kajaik (Sudanese fish stew)      Origin: South Sudan	Kedjenou      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Irish Lamb Stew      Origin: Ireland	Kakrar Jhal (Bengali Crab Curry)      Origin: India	Kedjenou II      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Irish Lamb Stew      Origin: Ireland	Kalia II (Meat and Potato Curry II)      Origin: Bangladesh	Kefta dyal Ghriba (Synagogue Koftas)      Origin: Tunisia
Irish Stew      Origin: Ireland	Kaluun iyo Bariis (Spicy Fish Sauce with Rice)      Origin: Somalia	Kejenou avec Agouti (Kejenou with Cane Rat)      Origin: Cote dIvoire
Iron Age Pork and Beans      Origin: Ancient	Kalya de Poulet (Chicken Kalya)      Origin: Mauritius	Kelenkelen (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Cameroon
Isidudu      Origin: Zimbabwe	Kanda (Beef Meatballs with Pumpkin Seeds)      Origin: Central African Republic	Keleya Zaara (Tunisian Lamb with Saffron)      Origin: Tunisia
Isombe      Origin: Rwanda	Kanda ti Nyma      Origin: Central African Republic	Kenkey      Origin: Ghana
Isophu      Origin: Southern Africa	Kang Ped Pla-dook (Red Curry with Catfish)      Origin: Thailand	Kenyan Chicken Tikka      Origin: Kenya
Ius Album in Assum Leporem (Hare's Blood, Liver and Lung Ragout)      Origin: Roman	Kangchu Tsoem (Pig's Trotter Tshoem)      Origin: Bhutan
Ius in lacertos elixos (Boiled Mackerel with Sauce)      Origin: Roman	Kangué (Ragout of Beef)      Origin: Mayotte

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