Peanut stew

Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also known as maafe (Wolof mafé, maffé, maffe), and pate d'arachide (French), is a staple food stew in Western Africa. While maafe is a dish originating from Senegal, in Mali tigadéguéna is also a stew that originated from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali and served with Malian fufu (tuwo). The origins of maafe are mistakenly confused with those of tigadèguèna. Maafe is a dish from the colonial era that consisted of rice, among other things, and was not known in Mali before it was imported into Senegal. The concept of peanuts was also unknown in Mali but Bambara groundnuts.

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 a sauce, also used by Gambians, whose name has been borrowed from the Mandinka language. In Senegal domodah or domoda refers to flour-thickened soup or stew, which is different from maafe that uses peanut paste. Senegalese maafe is a favorite dish among several Senegalese Mauritanian and Gambian ethnic groups; it has become the national dish in Mali as well as a popular dish across West Africa, even outside West Africa such as in Cameroon and France.

Variants of Senegalese maafe appear in the cuisine of nations throughout West Africa and Central Africa. It is very similar to groundnut soup. It may be prepared with lamb, beef, chicken, or without meat. In Ghana, this stew is usually eaten with fufu.