Is Mafe Gluten Free?

Mafe is usually gluten free. The traditional recipe is built around peanut paste, meat, tomatoes, and vegetables. The problem is that some versions are thickened with wheat flour, which makes it a dish worth confirming before you order rather than assuming it’s safe.

What Is Mafe?

Mafe (also spelled maffe, mafé, or domoda depending on the country) is a peanut-based stew common across West Africa, particularly in Senegal, Gambia, and Mali. It goes by different names in different places, but the principle is the same: a rich, deeply savoury stew made with ground peanuts or peanut paste, cooked down with meat, tomatoes, and vegetables into something thick and warming.

I’d read about it before arriving in Senegal and was looking forward to trying it, largely because peanut-based dishes tend to be delicious. When the bowl arrived, the dominant flavour wasn’t peanut at all — it was beef. It turned out to be more of a rich beef stew that happened to have peanut running through it, rather than the peanut-forward dish I’d imagined.

Mafe is typically served with rice, which keeps the whole dish naturally GF in its traditional form. The peanut paste gives it a deep, nutty undertone and a thick consistency, and the meat — usually beef or lamb, sometimes chicken — is slow-cooked until tender. Sweet potato, cassava, and carrots are common additions.

What Is Mafe Used For?

Mafe is a main course dish, usually served at lunch or dinner. It appears in home cooking, local restaurants, and street food settings across Senegal and the wider region. It’s filling and relatively cheap, which makes it a reliable option in places where restaurant menus are limited. Most villages or towns in Senegal have a small shack-like restuarant that serves Mafe and Thieboudienne on alternate days. They cook the dish throughout the morning, and its usually read to serve from 13:00 onwards.

Things to Look Out For

The flour-thickening issue is the main one to watch. I learnt this the hard way in Thies, after eating a Mafe of suspicious texture. From then on, I asked the chef if wheat flour was used in the recipe.

For the full picture on eating out in Senegal as a celiac, see the Gluten Free in Senegal guide.