Tahini sauce (some sesame paste /butter mixed with lemon juice & water) is used to line pita or naan bread for sabich, a delicious Iraqi Jewish sandwich of fried eggplant slices & mango pickle). Variations abound.
Tahina: It is a dressing made with (YES) Tahinni, some species and herbs like parsley, olive oil and - surprise! - PEANUT BUTTER. I love it with fish. That's more Israeli and one has to be familiar with jewish kitchen to make a difference between tahinna and tahinni. Nothing to do with the spell variety pointed out on a very scholarly comment on this post. THX
Yes, tahina is the prepared sauce with lemon and garlic, very similar to hummus but without the chick peas. Tahini is the pureed toasted sesame seeds that can be used to make tahina... A little late to the party, but thought I would chime in anyway..lol
yep, tahini is the Americanized word for tehina/tahina/tachina, which is Hebrew and Arabic for sesame paste. Tehina does not contain chickpeas; it's just a paste of ground sesame seeds. Texture is a lot like almond butter. If the outer shell of the sesame seed is included (sometimes called "whole tehina", as in whole wheat), the paste is dark. If only the inner kernel of the seed is used, it's a more refined, lighter paste.
I add tehina to chickpeas when making hummus; I also use it in dressings and sauces. Here's a recipe that calls for tahini/tehina: http://www.food52.com/recipes/6968_yam_zucchini_and_chickpea_salad. Happy cooking!
Actually, tahina is a transliteration of the Arabic as well, though I'd guess that the Hebrew simply adopted the Arabic.
It's sometimes diluted and served on its own, but more often found in other dips and such, like hommous, but also some preparations of eggplant dips, ie. Baba Ganough (which is how it's pronounced in Arabic).
There are also a number of sesame-based sweets and I should think some of them use tahina as a base.
I wacky parsed 'peanut butter' into peanut brittle.
But, that would be a good experiment. To make a peanut free brittle, with the tahini..with the addition of roasted chickpeas, or roasted almonds with a touch of cumin and hot pepper.
Basic hummus: 1 can (1 1/2 cups) chickpeas, 1/3 cup tahini, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 2 -3 cloves garlic. Basic baba ganough: 1 eggplant roasted, puree the pulp with the same amounts of tahini, lemon juice and garlic -- food processor does the job!
Chinese cold noodle salad -- most recipes use tahini, though I've read the Chinese version is not the same, but you can sub yours.
It's a good source of calcium and protein. In moderation, you can put it into smoothies. It has a funny property of getting thicker when you add liquids, then thins out when it goes over some threshold.
In Israel, the name Tahina is used more for the sauce (made as above with lemon juice and water), where we in the US call the "butter" by the name tahina/tahini. Usually what you buy will have a layer of oil on top (like natural peanut butter). Just stir it in until it's uniform and smooth -- it will hold for a good while. And it doesn't need refrigeration.
3 year olds are shoppers in training!
As many have noted, it is a sesame paste and is often mixed or served along hummus. Most notably, it is smeared inside of a pita pocket if you get a traditional falafel. If you live in the city, Taim in the West Village makes a delicious one. Other than an olive oil based salad dressing, you can mix it with greek yogurt, lemon juice, and some chopped fresh parsley. It's great on top of grilled, marinated eggplant and goes well with a lot of the traditional middle eastern flavors. When we were in the mood for something a bit different, my mother used to make a delicious dish of sauteed onions, mushrooms, chopped chicken breast and veal (you can substitute chickpeas if your vegetarian) spiced with a mixed grill spice blend (cumin based, a bit of garlic powder, coriander, nutmeg, etc.), all served over a bed of hummus and tahini, with warm pita squares alongside.
Given where it comes from, it is almost certainly an alternate spelling for tahini. Remember that both Arabic and Hebrew use different alphabets than we do, so any spelling used is an approximation anyway. It really is the sesame equivalent of peanut butter, and it can be used in anything peanut butter would be used for, but it varies in texture from fairly solid to rather liquid, and I've seen it both toasted and untoasted, so you may have to play it by ear when substituting it for nut butters. Like the others, I've usually used it for either hummus or for salad dressings, but if you like sesame you could use it for a lot of other things as well. I've seen it used in things like cookies.
I make a dressing that I serve over roasted butternut squash and chickpea salad. Here it is:
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons water, plus extra to thin, if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic, fresh for a stronger flavour, optional
Place cilantro in food processor and chop coarsely. Add the garlic and process again. Add the remaining ingredients and puree. Taste and add salt--I liked this a bit salty. You should end up with a thick, bright green and very flavourful sauce. Thin with water if necessary.
Oh, and I've also subed tahini for peanut butter for chicken satay. For a 3 yo. that might work well, cutting down on the heat and lime for traditional satay recipe to make it less spicy for a kid.
A Japanese "Gomae" could be made that might be kid friendly. It's a cool spinach dish..with a sweet sesame dressing.
http://www.food.com/recipe/gomae-japanese-style-spinach-salad-396253
@MyLittleCuddles. I'm really bad about quantifying. But it's basic ratio of acid to oil. 3 to 1 oil to acid. And 1 tsp of mustard one clove of garlic, a quarter of chopped onion. One table spoon of sesame paste. Tsp of Ginger. Tsp of sugar. Tsp of soy sauce.
In a mini-prep or blender. Add more sugar and soy sauce, sesame to taste after it blends and comes together.
Ideally it's a Japanese dressing made with toasted sesame seeds and mortar and pestle to make the paste.
Look here, Cuddles: http://www.food52.com/recipes/search?recipe_search=hummus
Lot's of good ideas. It's not difficult to make, and it can be fun (obviously) to play around with different flavors.
Tahina is indeed a paste made from sesame seeds and combined with chickpeas the most obvious use is hummus. Easy to make in a food processor. Although there are other things you can do with it.
That's so funny. I've come home with strange things, without the benefit of a 3 year old to blame. And once in a while, I'm missing something I know I picked up. Who got it??? Supermarket shuffle.
@Sam1148 - salad dressing sounds FAB! Do you have a proper recipe to share?
Never made my own hummus - what recipe do you use? Isn't hummus made with chick peas? Sorry for my ignorance! Just learning to cook ;-)
Thanks!
It's tahini. Use in hummus..or salad dressings. Does it have lots of oil in it, like a natural peanut butter? There might be diffrence in the name by regions.
I use it in a ginger, lemon juice, light veggie oil, mustard, garlic, a touch of sugar, a dash of soy sauce.
For an Japaneese style "steak house' salad; ginger sesame dressing.
Amazing what "treasure" percolate up out of shopping carts when children are around! I suspect it's the same thing. It's a paste made from sesame seeds and commonly used to make hummus.
Nope - package says Tahina. My 3-yr-old must have tossed it in the cart without me seeing and now I own it! "Premium Tahina from the Galilee." Maybe it's the same as Tahini? trying to read label, seems to be made of sesame seeds.
25 Comments
I add tehina to chickpeas when making hummus; I also use it in dressings and sauces. Here's a recipe that calls for tahini/tehina: http://www.food52.com/recipes/6968_yam_zucchini_and_chickpea_salad. Happy cooking!
It's sometimes diluted and served on its own, but more often found in other dips and such, like hommous, but also some preparations of eggplant dips, ie. Baba Ganough (which is how it's pronounced in Arabic).
There are also a number of sesame-based sweets and I should think some of them use tahina as a base.
But, that would be a good experiment. To make a peanut free brittle, with the tahini..with the addition of roasted chickpeas, or roasted almonds with a touch of cumin and hot pepper.
Chinese cold noodle salad -- most recipes use tahini, though I've read the Chinese version is not the same, but you can sub yours.
It's a good source of calcium and protein. In moderation, you can put it into smoothies. It has a funny property of getting thicker when you add liquids, then thins out when it goes over some threshold.
In Israel, the name Tahina is used more for the sauce (made as above with lemon juice and water), where we in the US call the "butter" by the name tahina/tahini. Usually what you buy will have a layer of oil on top (like natural peanut butter). Just stir it in until it's uniform and smooth -- it will hold for a good while. And it doesn't need refrigeration.
3 year olds are shoppers in training!
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons water, plus extra to thin, if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic, fresh for a stronger flavour, optional
Place cilantro in food processor and chop coarsely. Add the garlic and process again. Add the remaining ingredients and puree. Taste and add salt--I liked this a bit salty. You should end up with a thick, bright green and very flavourful sauce. Thin with water if necessary.
A Japanese "Gomae" could be made that might be kid friendly. It's a cool spinach dish..with a sweet sesame dressing.
http://www.food.com/recipe/gomae-japanese-style-spinach-salad-396253
http://www.food.com/recipe/gomae-japanese-style-spinach-salad-396253
In a mini-prep or blender. Add more sugar and soy sauce, sesame to taste after it blends and comes together.
Ideally it's a Japanese dressing made with toasted sesame seeds and mortar and pestle to make the paste.
Lot's of good ideas. It's not difficult to make, and it can be fun (obviously) to play around with different flavors.
Beside the point--make hummus.
Never made my own hummus - what recipe do you use? Isn't hummus made with chick peas? Sorry for my ignorance! Just learning to cook ;-)
Thanks!
I use it in a ginger, lemon juice, light veggie oil, mustard, garlic, a touch of sugar, a dash of soy sauce.
For an Japaneese style "steak house' salad; ginger sesame dressing.