You say tahini, I say tahina – two minute tahina recipe
Tahini, tahina, panini, banina – let’s call the whole thing off.
NB – if you have arrived at this page after Googling “what’s the difference between tahini and tahina?” - let’s just say that tahini is the crushed sesame seed paste you buy in bottles down the healthfood shoppe (which tastes a little odd straight out of the bottle), and tahina is the end product, described below, a delicious, easy and quick to make, zingy lighter alternative to humous for everyday use.
NBNB – You might have to take that with a pinch of salt (hoho) – I’ve been told that there may actually be no difference between tahini and tahina, it’s just a difference of pronunciation depending on country/language. Sorry.
If there are any tahini/a experts reading this, please feel free to correct/hurl abuse at me.
Where to buy tahini in London? – All types of London health food shops are probably your best bet, I’m also told that it’s sold in bigger Sainsburys branches, not sure about t’other supermarkets though.
Incidentally, tahini can also be made into a (very sweet) dessert called halva.
Tahini/a Recipe
For today’s purposes, we’re going all savoury with the sesame, and the following, simple-as-chips recipe will give you a delicious dip, a healthy source of protein, and above all, a much easier and quicker to make alternative to its bulkier chickpea cousin!
Ingredients
Bottle of tahini
1 Lemon
Water
(Optional extras: parsley, and soya sauce or umeboshi paste to taste)
1. Mix up the tahini within the bottle, so the oil and paste isn’t too separated.
2. Spoon out into a bowl as much tahini as you like (say 3 tablespoons for a dip for 2 people as a rough guide).
3. Add a little water, then mix together with the paste, and repeat until you have a good, humous-esque consistency.
4. Add a squeeze of lemon.
Simple as that. Add more tahini if you overdo it with the water (duh!)
Optional extras: Finely chopped parsley complements this dip really well. Also, I always prefer it with a drop of soya sauce, or (hey, let’s go crazy) some salty umeboshi paste (if you can find it!) – either of these really cut the slight bitterness factor down to size.
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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(4.20 out of 5)
There is definitely a difference between Tahini and Tahina. My stepmother used to buy Tahini in jars in the healthfood shop to use instead of peanut butter when we were kids. None of us liked it; it was thick and heavy and had an odd bitter taste. You can still buy the same thing now in healthfood shops.
When we were in Egypt we were given, in cafes and restaurants everywhere, bread and Tahina as a snack. This was a much creamier houmous like dip with a delicious flavour. We were told this was made by mixing Tahini with ‘other ingredients’ but were unable to find out what the ‘other ingredients’ were.
I will try your recipe and see what it’s like!
Yes, thanks Ruth – that sounds about right.
Tahini instead of peanut butter??? Why???
If you buy the tahini in a bottle, then follow the easy steps in my recipe, I’m guessing/hoping you’ll get something quite similar to what you had in Egypt…
Happy tahina-making!
[...] You can also get umeboshi paste, which is great on corn on the cob, and is the secret ingredient in my tahina recipe. [...]
[...] I wonder why – a lot of the supermarket stuff is a bit of a travesty – too lemony, garlicky, to cover up the lack of taste from the key humous ingredients: chick peas and tahini (sesame paste). [...]