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Mafé I

A Senegalese beef stew with peanut butter, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and tomato paste.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mafé I

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the beef

  1. Heat the oil over medium‑high heat in a large pot.

  2. Add the onions and sauté until translucent.

  3. Add garlic and ginger and sauté 1‑2 more minutes.

  4. Add the beef and sauté until lightly browned.

  5. Add the tomato paste and stir in for about 1 minute.

Simmer the stew

  1. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium‑low. Season.

  2. Simmer 10‑15 minutes to reduce the tomatoes somewhat.

  3. Add enough water or stock to loosen the dish up and simmer another 10 minutes.

  4. Stir in the peanut butter and simmer another 20 minutes or so until oil rises to the surface of the dish.

Serve

  1. Adjust seasoning and serve with rice or couscous.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

615Calories
36 gProtein
43 gFat
24 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + peanuttop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together877 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
Becomes tender during long simmering and browns for savory depth.
Peanut butter
Thickens the stew and gives it a rich, nutty body as the oil separates.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity and liquid that reduce into the base of the sauce.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated tomato flavor and deepens color after a brief cooking.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, forming the flavor base of the stew.

The step that matters

Stirring in the peanut butter. Peanut butter can scorch on the bottom of the pot and turn gritty or greasy if the heat is too high. Keeping the stew at a gentle simmer and stirring often lets it blend smoothly into the sauce.

Swap the peanut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, clove, ginger, beef, tomato, pepper):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Sesamefits better
  4. Peanutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, clove, ginger, beef, tomato, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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