Easy Tarator Sauce
Discover the secret to achieving the creamiest Tarator Sauce! Whip up this tangy tahini dip in 5 minutes with just 4 ingredients for veggies, falafel & more.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 182kcal
Equipment
- mortar and pestle or knife
Ingredients
Tarator (Tahini) Dip
- 1 teaspoon salt
or to taste - 2 cloves garlic
peeled * see notes - 1 cup tahini raw blended white sesame seeds * see notes
- ½ cup lemon juice
fresh (juice from 2 large lemons) - ¼ cup water to ⅓ cup or as needed to create desired creamy consistency
Optional Spices
- ½ teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika or cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add salt and fresh garlic into the mortar and pestle and pulverize. *See notes
- Next, add fresh lemon juice and stir to incorporate it with the salt and garlic mixture. *See notes
- In a large bowl, add the tahini sesame paste and lemon juice, garlic and salt mixture. Stir together until it becomes thick and clumpy sauce. This is dodgy appearance is normal.
- Optional: Season with dried ground cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder or aromatics like sumac.
- Pour in a couple teaspoons of water at a time while stirring. The tahini sauce will seize up and that is completely normal. Keep stirring and add in little bits of water at a time.
- You will start to notice that the mixture will turn from a dark beige to a light beige as you add more water and with continued stirring. The sauce is beginning to emulsify and you are almost there.
- You will know the tarator sauce is ready to serve when it becomes extra creamy, lightens in color, is airy and has the texture of velvety whipped topping or creamy yogurt. This texture is perfect for dipping and it only takes about 5 minutes. If you want it thinner add a little more water at a time to achieve your desired consistency.
- Serve this tarator dip with fresh crisp veggies, over roasted veggies, spicy shrimp, with falafel, on sandwiches and much more. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Basic Tips
- Ensure the Tahini sesame paste is mixed together well without separation between the oil and sesame mixture BEFORE adding it to the tarator recipe.
- No mortar and pestle? No problem! You can easily chop and pulverize the garlic with salt with a knife on a cutting board.
- No fresh garlic? Substitute with 1 teaspoon dried ground garlic.
- If you want an extra smooth tarator sauce, filter the fresh lemon juice and garlic mixture through an extra fine strainer.
- You can make this easy tahini dip in the food processor or high-speed blender instead of blending by hand. But, then you will need to wash that equipment too.
- Tarator Sauce thickens as it sets. If you make the sauce in advance, you may need to add a little more water to get it loosened up again.
- Store the sauce in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days, because of the fresh garlic. If you want to keep this Lebanese inspired tahini dip for up to a week, substitute the fresh garlic with dried ground garlic.
- Freeze tarator sauce for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. You may need to add more water to thin out the sauce and stir well to add more air to regain the creamy texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg
