This is a sauce which can be added to various dishes in order to give them a unique flavor. Tahina is made from sesame seeds and is extremely healthy. Note the secret ingredient which gives this sauce an extra richness.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of tahina (many mainstream grocery stores now sell this product, usually in the gourmet foods section; otherwise, any Middle Eastern grocery should carry it)
• Secret Ingredient: 2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
• The juice of 2-3 lemons
• Salt to taste
• Cold water

Preparation:

• The easiest way to make tahina is in the blender. If you have a blender simply combine the above ingredients, using about 8 oz. tahina and enough water to form a mixture which is the consistency of melted vanilla ice-cream. The color should be white and you should get rid of any lumps. It should taste salty but not too salty. There should be a definite taste of sesame.
• Without a blender, the tahina must be prepared much more carefully. The first step is to mix the lemon juice with the desired amount of tahina. You must whip these two ingredients together with a spoon until the tahina turns from brown to white and becomes very smooth. If this does not happen then it means that you should add more lemon or more tahina.
• Once the mixture is very smooth and white, add the yoghurt, again whipping it until it becomes very smooth.
• Slowly add water to the paste until you achieve the desired consistency. Again, this should be roughly the consistency of melted vanilla ice-cream. There should be no lumps.
• Add salt to taste and you are done.

There are many uses for this tahina sauce in Arabic cooking and I will mention some of them in future columns. One of the most common dishes to make use of tahina is Kufta bi-Tahina (Arabic meatballs cooked in sesame sauce) which I will describe here.

Kufta bi-Tahina:

• First prepare regular kufta with meat and potatos as I have described here but omit the tomatos.
• Cook uncovered at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
• At this point, turn the meat and potatos around and add enough tahina sauce to the baking dish so that it covers the meat and potatos.
• Continue cooking for another 20-25 minutes. The sauce should get thicker and turn brown but not so thick that it becomes like a paste or resembles peanut butter. If it becomes too brown on top or forms a skin this means that it is burning. The best thing is to keep an eye on it and taste it every now and then. If it tastes good then this is a good sign. Serve with rice.

Arabic-Islamic Recipes