Are there different styles of tahini?
I've recently started frequenting a Middle Eastern restaurant. They provide a sauce with their shawarma that they swear is tahini, but I've never tasted any like this.
Most tahinis I've had are about the texture of natural peanut butter, are some shade of brown, and contain nothing but ground sesame seeds.
The tahini at this restaurant is a thin white sauce seasoned with garlic and some kind of spices. I politely asked a waiter if they weren't maybe confusing tahini with tzatziki, but they say no. It's a small family-owned place, and they will not share their recipe or even give a hint as to what's in this sauce.
I've googled tahini, but have not really found anything (either recipes or store-bought products) that resemble this. Is it some heretofore-unknown variety of tahini, and if so, what is it called?
Best Answer
"Tahini Sauce" and "Taratour Sauce", which are sauces based on tahini, are often simply called "tahini". Generally the recipe is tahini, lemon juice, salt, and optionally herbs and/or garlic.
Example recipes:
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Quick Answer about "Are there different styles of tahini?"
Tahini comes in two types: hulled and unhulled. In hulled tahini, the outer shells of the sesame seeds have been removed so the tahini paste is paler and creamier than unhulled tahini. Hulled tahini contains less fiber and is less nutrient-rich.Is all tahini the same?
While you may have heard of tahini, which is a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean paste made from sesame seeds, it is different from Chinese sesame paste in that it contains hulled, raw sesame seeds. Because the Chinese version is made from toasted sesame seeds, it is significantly darker, nuttier, and stronger in flavor.What is the best type of tahini?
#1: Baron's Organic Tahini Stir-ability: 4.75 \u2013 Only a little oil on top. Stirs really easily with almost no effort and appears runny and creamy. Taste: 4.25 \u2013 Nutty and kind of reminiscent of cashew butter. Naturally mild sweetness and not too bitter.How do you choose tahini?
Zitelman recommends choosing lighter-colored tahini and to look out for excessive oil separation in the jar. The oil, which naturally does that, could indicate an oilier seed type\u2014or it could mean the tahini is on the older side.Which is better unhulled or hulled tahini?
Most people prefer the paler type, made from hulled (skinned) seeds. The darker sort, made from unhulled sesame, is stronger-tasting and slightly bitter, but arguably healthier, because many of the nutrients are in the husk.What is Tahini and how do you use it? - The Middle Eastern Pantry
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Answer 2
The one delivered with shawarma is Taratour Sauce, it is basically made up of tahini, with some garlic, lemon juice, and if you like you can add some parsley. They usually add some water to make it thin white.
You can make using tahini many kinds of sauces, like the chickpeas sauce, which is prepared by smashing the chickpeas then add tahini and garlic and lemon juice.
Everything could be prepared from tahini and lemon juice and garlic, and it will give a nice taste.
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