Facts About Maafe
Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also called as maafe, sauce d'arachide, tigadèguèna or domoda, is a stew or sauce that is a staple food in Western Africa. It originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.
The proper name for it in the Mandinka language is domodah or tigadegena (lit. 'peanut butter sauce,' where tige is 'peanut,' dege is 'paste,' and na is 'sauce') in Bamanankan.
Domodah is also used by Gambians, having been borrowed from the Mandinka language. In Senegal domodah or domoda is another dish different from mafe. It is a favorite dish among several Senegal and Gambia ethnic groups. With the huge expansion of groundnut cultivation during the colonial period, Maafe has also become a popular dish across West Africa, even outside West Africa such as in Cameroon and France.
Variants of the dish appear in the cuisine of nations throughout West Africa and Central Africa. It is very similar to groundnut soup. It may have a thicker consistency. Made from lamb, beef, chicken, or without meat, maafe is cooked with a sauce based on groundnuts, especially peanut butter/paste, and tomatoes. Peanut paste is sometimes used as an ingredient. In Ghana, groundnut stew is often accompanied with fufu.
Variations
Recipes for the stew vary wildly, but commonly include chicken, tomato, onion, garlic, cabbage, and leaf or root vegetables. Other versions include okra, corn, carrots, cinnamon, hot peppers, paprika, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, and other spices. Maafe is traditionally served with white rice (in Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia), fonio or to (millet dough) in Mali, tuwo or omo tuo (rice or millet dough) in Northern Nigeria, Niger, and Northern Ghana, couscous (as West Africa meets the Sahara, in Sahelian countries), or fufu and sweet potatoes in the more tropical areas, such as the Ivory Coast. Um'bido is a variation using greens, while Ghanaian maafe is cooked with boiled eggs. A variation of the stew, "Virginia peanut soup", even traveled with enslaved Africans to North America.
The Gambia
Domoda is a type of groundnut stew found in The Gambia. Domoda is prepared using ground peanuts, or peanut butter, meat, onion, tomato, garlic seasonal vegetables and spices. It has been described as one of the national dishes of The Gambia. Domoda is typically served over rice, and is also sometimes served over findi, which is a grain that is similar to couscous in consistency.
Mali