Tahini (also known as βtahinaβ) β is a thick paste made from roasted sesame seeds. Yes, itβs that simple ;) Tahini paste is a versatile ingredient in Eastern cuisine, used in a variety of dishes, both hot and cold, savory and sweet. Without tahini, it is impossible to prepare such Middle Eastern dishes as hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel. It is added to salads, used as a sauce for shawarma, meat, and fish, or simply spread on pita or bread.
Health Benefits of Tahini
Sesame paste has numerous health benefits for the body:
due to its high calcium content, it helps strengthen bones and joints, improves the condition of nails;
is a rich source of plant protein β a building material for muscle fibers;
improves the functioning of the digestive system and helps regulate metabolism;
contains antioxidants that prevent premature aging of the skin;
helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure: magnesium found in sesame dilates blood vessels, while potassium reduces the risk of heart disease.
How to Make Tahini at Home: Step-by-Step Recipe
Tahini paste can not only be purchased as a ready-made product. Itβs not that difficult to make it yourself. All you need for this is fresh sesame, a pan, and a blender.
The entire cooking process consists of just three simple steps:
Roasting
In a dry heated non-stick pan, roast the seeds until golden brown. Let them cool slightly.
GrindingTransfer the roasted sesame to a blender bowl and grind at maximum speed until homogeneous. You can also use an immersion blender (as we did). But from personal experience β donβt do this in a low bowl, as in the photo. In this case, there is a risk of a large βsplashβ of seeds all over the work surface.
ΠΏΠΎΡΠ°ΡΠΎΠΊ ΠΏΠΎΠ΄ΡΡΠ±Π½Π΅Π½Π½Ρ
ΠΌΠ°ΠΉΠΆΠ΅ ΠΊΡΠ½Π΅ΡΡ ΠΏΠΎΠ΄ΡΡΠ±Π½Π΅Π½Π½Ρ
The indication of a successful grinding process is the appearance of oil droplets on the walls of the bowl.
MixingIf the paste seems thick β add one tablespoon of olive oil. Since household blenders may not always grind sesame with the same quality as industrial ones, adding olive oil to the paste at home is acceptable, which will further enhance the aroma of tahini.
Π΄ΠΎΠ΄Π°ΡΠΌΠΎ ΠΎΠ»ΠΈΠ²ΠΊΠΎΠ²Ρ ΠΎΠ»ΡΡ
ΠΎΡΡ ΡΠ°ΠΊΠ° ΠΏΠ°ΡΡΠ° ΡΠ°Ρ ΡΠ½Ρ Π²ΠΈΠΉΡΠ»Π° Ρ Π½Π°Ρ
We used our tahini as an ingredient in another classic Eastern dish β baba ganoush. You can find the step-by-step recipe for its preparation here.
From our own mistakes: we recommend using fresh sesame. If it has been sitting for a long time, the finished paste may taste slightly bitter, which unfortunately happened to us(
