Live Long and Prosper

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©2012 Simon Revere Mouer III, all rights reserved

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  Tahina Sauce
(Traditional Recipe)		  

History:

      

Tahina sauce is a traditional Middle-Eastern dish, which serves the same purpose as butter, jam, and dip do in the West, plus a lot more. You can make it to your liking, and different Middle East cultures have their own slant to it.. It goes especially great with flat bread (plain or toasted) and/or chips, as well as other dishes
       
Ingredients Quantity Utensils Process
       
Lemon(s) Start with 1 lemon. 
Add more to taste, if desired.		 Mixing bowl, knife Slice and squeeze lemon(s) into mixing bowl.  Discard peel
       
Sesame seed paste about a half cup spoon or fork If oil has separated from paste, blend back to smooth consistency in original container before using.

Then blend sesame seed paste and lemon juice in mixing bowl.
       
Water about  a half cup   Put a small amount of water into sesame paste mix at a time, and blend thoroughly each time.

Continue adding water in small increments and blending until the mix stops re-thickening.  Then add small amount of water to thin to desired consistency.

Optional      
Cinnamon (or other Spice) a half a teaspoon or so, to taste spoon Blend into mix.
       

Storage: Refrigerate in air-tight container

    
       

Secret to superior Tahina Sauce

     

Ground sesame seed (together with its oil) are hydroscopic, which means it absorbs water. You want to add water up to the saturation point, which you will have to find by adding water in small steps and mixing thoroughly before adding more water.  Don't rush this process.  The absorption of the water doesn't take place instantaneously. 

As you mix the sesame paste and the water, it will slowly re-thicken to its original consistency - which means the saturation point has not yet been reached. At some point (maybe around a 1:1 ratio of paste to water, by volume)) the saturation point will be reached, and no amount of mixing will cause the mix to re-thicken, and you can then thin it to the the consistency you desire.

If you didn't add enough water to reach the saturation point, the mix will stiffen over time. Once you reach the saturation point, and the mix is still too thick for your taste, add very small amounts of water to thin it (a spoonful or so at a time). If you overshoot and add too much water, then add a small amount of paste to adjust the thickness to your taste.
       
  (Tamgy - Zesty Recipe)  
       

Instead of lemons and water, use San Pellegrino Lemonata (sparkling lemon beverage). It is made with real lemon joice, quite a strong lemon flavor, and lightly carbonated.