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Tahini (Arabic tahina: طحينة), zhimajiang (芝麻醤), nerigoma (ねりごま), טחינה (tahina or t'hina - Hebrew), Tashi (τασιή) in Cyprus or sesame paste is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. Tahini originates in ancient Persia (Iran), under the name ardeh (ارده) 'holy food'.

Tahini paste is used in a variety of dishes. Tahini-based sauces are common in Middle Eastern restaurants as a side dish or as a garnish, usually including lemon juice, salt and garlic, and thinned with water. Tahini sauce is also a popular condiment for meat and vegetables in Middle Eastern cuisine. In addition, it is a main ingredient in soups. As a spread, Tahini can replace peanut butter on bread, though the flavor and texture are quite different.

In Turkey, tahini (tahin in Turkish) is mixed with pekmez to form a dish called tahin-pekmez. Due to its high-calorie nutritious value, it is served as a breakfast item or after meals as a dessert to dip pieces of bread in, especially during the wintertime. In Iraq and some Gulf countries, tahini is mixed with date syrup (rub) to make a sweet dessert usually eaten with bread. In Cyprus, tashi is used as dipping for bread and in Pitta Souvlaki rather than tzatziki, which is customary in Greece. In Egypt, tahini is automatically added to virtually all sandwiches unless one requests it not to be. Ful Iskandrani (Alexandrian ful) is a popular preparation of ful with hot peppers and generous tahini. Tahini is also the main ingredient in the Mediterranean type of halva. Tahini is becoming more common in European cuisine and can be found as an ingredient in some pre-packaged sandwiches. Tahini is an important ingredient in hummus.Tahini is often used to thicken soups.

Preparation
To make tahini is quite simple. Get tahini paste at your local supermarket or specialty store, mix with some water and there you go. You can also add some lemon juice to balance the sesame flavor and to garnish, freshly chopped parsley.

The exact paste-water proportions vary wildly based on personal flavor, making tahini as part of a dish or standalone as a dip and the kind of paste you have. In Israel there are mostly 2 kinds of paste available, the whole seed and the regular. I prefer the regular because whole seed has a somewhat strong sesame aroma, which I don't like, despite the nutritional value of the latter.

Tahini is an important ingredient in hummus, which would come next.