Tahini sauce (tarator)
One of the basic sauces of the Levant: it is drizzled over falafel and shawarma and served with baked fish and vegetables. Tahini whisked with lemon juice, garlic and ice-cold water makes a smooth, creamy sauce with a nutty, slightly tangy flavour. It takes 10 minutes of work, but one moment surprises everyone: after the lemon goes in, the tahini suddenly thickens and seizes — that is normal. Just keep adding water a spoonful at a time and the sauce turns silky and paler.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Garlic in lemon 10 min
- Whisking the sauce 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSteep the garlic in lemon
Crush the garlic, cover with 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice (keep the rest for seasoning), add the salt and leave 10 minutes. The lemon tames the garlic's bite.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Garlic in lemon — it mellows in 10 minutes.Stir the tahini
Stir the tahini in its jar thoroughly — sesame oil gathers on top and the paste thickens at the bottom. Measure 150 g into a bowl.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Strain the lemon
Strain the lemon juice to remove the bits of garlic. If you like a strong garlic flavour, skip this.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Add the juice to the tahini
Pour the lemon juice into the tahini and whisk. The paste thickens at once, turning matt and lumpy — that is how it should be.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
It thickens and seizes — that is normal.Add ice-cold water
Add the ice-cold water a spoonful at a time, whisking all the while. After a few spoonfuls the sauce suddenly turns smooth, paler and creamy.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Spoon by spoon — the sauce turns silky.Set the consistency
For drizzling over falafel and vegetables, the sauce should flow like thick cream; for dipping, thicker, like yoghurt. Adjust with water.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Season
Taste and adjust with salt, lemon juice and a pinch of cumin. Tarator should be clearly lemony, nutty and lightly garlicky.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Serve
Serve with falafel, shawarma, roasted cauliflower and aubergine, grilled fish or as a salad dressing.
Ingredients: 150 g tahini · 2 pcs lemons, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 2 cloves garlic · ¾ tsp salt · 120 ml ice-cold water · 1 pinch cumin (optional)
Before you start
Which tahini
Light tahini from hulled sesame is best — runny, with a mild, nutty flavour, for example from Lebanon, Israel or Palestine. Dark tahini from unhulled seeds makes a noticeably bitter sauce.
With parsley
With a big handful of chopped parsley, tarator becomes bakdounsieh — a green sauce for fish and kebabs.
Storage
Keep the sauce, made with raw garlic, in the fridge in a closed container for at most 4–5 days; do not leave it at room temperature for long. It thickens in the cold — loosen it with a spoonful of water before serving.