Mafé is a very popular Senegalese dish – in fact, it’s popular all over West Africa and variations of the dish can be found in Gambia, Mali and the Ivory Coast. When looking at the history of Senegal, it becomes obvious why many of the dishes in West Africa are so interrelated. The ground peanuts lend a satisfying sweet, salty, nutty flavour and the dish itself is delightfully filling. Mafé is known by many names – over and above the simple English name, groundnut stew, it is also referred to as mafe, maffé, maffe, sauce d’arachide, sauce z’ara, tigadèguèna and tigadene.

Ingredients

• 2 kg chicken, cut into pieces – goat and beef can also be used
• 250 ml smooth natural peanut butter
• 125 ml roasted, unsalted peanuts – chopped to garnish
• 1 ½ litres fresh, homemade chicken stock (or beef, if you are using meat instead of poultry)
• 375 ml fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 2 aubergines (eggplants), cubed
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 onions, diced
• 5 medium carrots, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, mashed
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 lemons, grated zest only
• 60 ml fresh thyme, finely chopped – use leaves only and not the stalks
• 1 habenero chilli, pierced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp peanut oil

Method

• Pour the oil into a roasting dish and heat well in the oven.  (It can also be made on top of the stove – see bottom)
• Season the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper and brown in the hot dish – then remove the chicken from the dish and set aside.
• Drain off the excess fat because chicken can have a very high oil content.
• Add  the butter to the same dish and saute the onions until they are translucent at which point you add the carrots, the aubergines*, the garlic, the ginger and the tomatoes.
• Pour in about a litre of the chicken stock, the thyme, the habanero and the lemon zest.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the peanut butter and the tomato paste into remaining stock and pour this into the dish as well.
• Finally put the chicken back into the dish, cover and bake in the oven for about 2 hours until the chicken falls from the bones – garnish with the chopped peanuts.
• Please note that this can be cooked on top of the stove in a large casserole or even a traditional black, cast iron pot.
• Serve hot with rice or potatoes.
• * Feel free to add any other vegetables you may wish to add.