Today, we will learn how to make MAFE, also known as peanut stew which is a Senegalese dish.
All 16 countries in Westen African have a lot of similar recipes, which has a beautiful similarity of ingredients, taste and cooking method.
Ghana and Togo have a similar dish called Groundnut soup which has a nutty and creamy flavour, whereby the Senegalese Mafe stew has a nutty, caramelised and tangy flavour. The consistency of each dish also heightens their differences with the similar ingredient of Groundnut or Peanut paste.
This dish can be served with waakye, steamed rice, boiled yam, kenkey or banku and many more sides.
INGREDIENTS
Chicken marinade
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 large/3 small shallots, minced
1.5 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
800 grams boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
Peanut sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion(finely diced)
1 small red pepper (finely diced)
1 small green pepper (finely diced)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cayenne pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
100 grams smooth peanut butter
500 millilitres chicken stock
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
½ small squash, peeled and chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Marinade the chicken
Put the salt, pepper, garlic, minced shallots, cayenne pepper and oil into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the chicken thighs and mix well. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make the stew
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish.
Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned, then remove them from the pan.
Turn the heat down to low.
Add the onion, red and green pepper and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until they soften.
Add the garlic, cayenne chilli, salt and black pepper and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
Add the tomato puree, peanut butter and stock and stir together, then add the chicken pieces back to the pan along with the stock, carrots, squash, tomatoes, thyme and bay.
Simmer over a low heat for 1 hour until the sauce has reduced and the chicken is tender.
Then serve with white rice and fresh coriander.
