How To Make Tahini? Traditionally, it is made with only 2 ingredients: sesame seeds and oil. In this recipe, I add cumin powder, garlic, lime, salt and pepper. This recipe can be a tahini sauce, spread or a dressing.
I am not being presumptuous when I say that you and I are falafal fanatics, right? If we found ourselves on the streets of Manhattan at 4am after a looooong night of tech support, what is our first thought?
“I want a falafal sandwich right now!”
Lucky for us, falafal sandwich is very easy to find anytime in the city that never sleeps!
Falafal is considered incomplete if it isn’t smothered with tahini sauce. And by smothered, we mean, its oooooozing out of every pore of the pita bread!
When we take that first bite, the tahini awakens our tired taste buds and instantly rejuvenates them. That aroma of toasted sesame seeds activates our aroma buds and revives our soul!
What is Tahini?
Tahini is a recipe made with sesame seeds and water. That’s it! Depending on how much water you use in it, it can be a spread, sauce, dip or any kind of add-on.
A good tahini sauce doesn’t take hours to prepare! It comes together in 10 minutes or less.
Traditionally, tahini is made with only 2 ingredients: Sesame Seeds and Olive oil. But, you know that I just have to add a little something to any recipe that is out of the norm!
So, what is tahini used for?
Tahini is very common in many Mediterranean cuisines. Most commonly, it is used in Israeli street food cuisine like shawarma and falafal.
The Greeks love to use it as a dipping sauce for their skewers. Persians love to drizzle it over their traditional halwa. Many Middle Eastern countries use it extensively in curate their meats and vegetables.
I discovered that it is very popular in Vietnamese cooking, especially in noodles. This has put me in a mood to experiment! Recipe coming soon.
In this recipe, I added roasted garlic, cumin powder, salt, pepper and lime. In the past, I have added sriracha sauce and it has turned out to be DELICIOUS!
If you want to make it a sauce, add about 1/4 cup of water and it will be the perfect dipping sauce for my eggplant chips. I even put it in my no bake energy bites because they make a delicious snack.
Is Tahini different from Hummus?
Yes, tahini is very different from hummus. Tahini is made with sesame seeds and Hummus is made with chick peas
Also, tahini uses only 2 main ingredients. Hummus can be made with chickpeas only.
Tahini works better as a sauce and hummus works better as a spread.
Either way, they are used in a variety of recipes. They are both extremely versatile and there is not recipe they can’t be put into
I have also used it to dip carrots or cucumber. Sometimes, tahini is more fun than Hummus because I can make it in less than 10 minutes
To make it a paste, just omit the water or add only about 2 Tbsp. The tahini paste is a perfect spread for my Falafal Burger
What is your favorite way to use Tahini?
How To Make Tahini
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sesame Seeds Hulled
- 1/4 cup olive oil adjust for consistency
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2 tsp cumin powder Optional
- 1/2 tsp salt Optional
- 1/2 tsp black pepper Optional
- 1 tsp lime juice Optional
- 2 Tbsp water Optional
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and add the garlic to it.
- When the garlic starts to brown, add the hulled (*see notes) sesame seeds
- Toast the seeds for about 3 minutes or until slightly browned. Stir constantly
- Remove from the heat and let them cool for a few minutes
- In a processor, add the garlic and sesame seeds
- Grind them for about 1 minute
- Add the oil in 2 batches. Grind after each batch
- Add the cumin powder, salt and pepper (if using)
- Grind again until well blended
- Add lime juice and grind one last time
- If using, add water now (** See note)
- Refrigerate and store in an air tight container
Betty says
April 12, 2019 at 6:56 PMHow long will it keep
Healing Tomato says
April 18, 2019 at 10:34 AMThank you, Betty. I try to use it within a week.
joe says
October 21, 2017 at 1:40 PMThis is not the real authentic tahini. The real tahini we buy in supermarkets locally are mashed sesame seeds only. They settle if left unattended for a long time. Before using mix again.
Healing Tomato says
October 22, 2017 at 7:58 PMMy recipe uses less oil than the store bought one and it also adds a little flavor. I wanted to make a healthier option and I succeeded at it. If you read my post, you will notice that I wasn’t going for authentic tahini. Authentic tahini has been done many times and its always on the oily side. Instead, I was going for my ideal version of tahini.
Kirti Yadav says
July 24, 2017 at 7:36 AMI have always made Tahini sauce by using the same two ingredients and it has never disappointed me. Never tried adding garlic and cumin powder (as cumin powder is more like Indian spice, which we use in Indian curries) but didn’t know that we can use the same for Mediterranean cuisine too. I will give a try to this recipe.
Healing Tomato says
July 26, 2017 at 1:09 PMThank you, Kirti. Cumin powder is very Indian and Mexican ingredients, but, its slowly inching its way into other world cuisines. Mediterranean recipes have used it in meat curating recipes, so, its fun to put it into a tahini recipe too. Personally, I am a huge fan of fusion recipes.