The doctor still wants me to take it easy and Chinese New Year was a long holiday -- I decided to experiment.

Before the not-Thailand-related police get all exorcised, I would like to offer the following:

I have been working on a Braille version of the official Government of Peru Travel Guide and they claim that these crops -- grown and eaten by Thai folks in Thailand -- are NATIVE to Peru:

Custard Apple (Nawy Na)

Sweet cucumber ( as opposed to bitter)

Squash

Guava (Farang)

Passion Fruit

Sweet Potato

and, last but not least, the Papaya. Yes, you can tell your Isaan-born significant other that her/his twice-daily Som Tam originates in PERU.

Now to the Baba. Sesame is a major export crop in Thailand -- you can buy 500 grams for 21 baht at BigC so you can afford to experiment...not like playing with truffles. 'Took me 5 days but I got Tahini down: There are two types (Raw and Toasted) and two basic methods (hull-on and hull-off)...and the golf-ball eggplants work fine -- add some other Thai grown ingredients and you are set -- except for the pita bread.. I used those indigenous Thai-made Glico Pretz for dipping.

Recipe, dear Jazzbo?

so how do you make tahini from sesame seeds?

so how do you make tahini from sesame seeds?

probly the same way dat ye make peanut butter from peanuts...just gotta grind dem up in a suitable appliance. Claudia Roden in her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food doesn't mention a way of preparation, she just supposes that you have it at hand. So, check it out...you can probably find it in the arab quarter of Sukhumvit...sumone said that it is available in shops in small places like Hua Hin...but in small town rural Thailand I would ferggedaboutit...

whattaboudit, jazzbo? you gotta recipie to do from scratch?

Edited February 21, 200719 yr by tutsiwarrior

This is local way of making tahini in a country I spend a lot of time working in.

1 Get 2 big grindstones with long pole attached to top stone.

2. Add 1 blinkered camel attached to pole.

3. Place sesame seeds in holes in top of stone.

4. Walk camel round and round the grindstone all day.

5. Collect tahini in jugs.

The local Arabs assure me this method makes the best tahini.

Does this sound familiar tutsi

Edited February 21, 200719 yr by Farma

de arabs dey use camels fer lots ob things, just ask 'ol Sheikh Mohammad from Dubai...when over dere better to just buy it from de store...baba an' hoummous can also be store bought...adda bit ob lemon juice an' wid yer fresh 4pm baked arabic bread hunker down an' enjoy. If peckish later in de evenin' just head up to de boulevard and get a shwarma...best food dat I have had inna woild...other than Mexico City an' certain parts ob Los Angeles...

Any babaganoush lover has just GOT to try Shoshana restaurant in Khao San...GREAT stuff! (Though they call it hazilim)

If you dont have a couple of camels around, try Foodland in Pattaya, and maybe in other Foodlands in Bangkok. They have the real deal.

Best baba in Bkk so far is the Beiruth Restaurant in the basement of Ploenchit Villa supermarket mall. Best Lebanese food so far in Bkk. Their hummos and labneh is also brilliant. I've searched everywhere to find the thick not low fat yogurt here in Thailand, all to no avail. This is what is used in labneh, which is super thick yog with lemon and garlic. YUM !

Hello (Ms.?) Jet -- The recipe is still a work-in-progress. Khun Farma is right in that it probably takes a real grind stone -- camel-powered or otherwise -- to make a genuine tahini...also that a genuine tahini probably involves removing the hulls. The sesame seed is first soaked for 24 hours in water, then ground. The mash is immersed in very salty water. The ground up hull sinks and the pulp is skimmed off the top -- what a mess.

The best results so far -- without too much effort -- involved toasting the seeds lightly, then (after letting them cool down ) grinding them in my coffee-grinder blender attachment, then placing them in the actual blender with enough oil (and a bit of water) to emulsify.

The first time I tried it I over-toasted the seed and it turned out more like sesame-peanut butter. In the USA, the health food stores love the raw tahini which I always found to be bland. So the best results so far -- without too much hassle -- involved lightly toasting the seeds ( i.e. BEFORE that characteristic sesame smell emerges ) then using the 2-step blender method above. But as I say, a work-in-progress and I still have a few more permutations to try.

If you dont have a couple of camels around, try Foodland in Pattaya, and maybe in other Foodlands in Bangkok. They have the real deal.

Best baba in Bkk so far is the Beiruth Restaurant in the basement of Ploenchit Villa supermarket mall. Best Lebanese food so far in Bkk. Their hummos and labneh is also brilliant. I've searched everywhere to find the thick not low fat yogurt here in Thailand, all to no avail. This is what is used in labneh, which is super thick yog with lemon and garlic. YUM !

Beirut is very delightful indeed Foodbyphone is a handy outlet for it

I think that most folks will find that most well known middle eastern food is derivative of lebanese cuisine...this would exclude roasted camel testicles served in camel's milk yogurt which would be a Gulf regional specialty...dem desert bedouins are culinary monsters (in de positive sense, ob course...)

Yeah, I'd have to say that lebenese is my favorite cuisine...

Babagashnose

Kibi

Hummos

Falafil

Love that stuff, tho I probably spelled em all wrong!

Hehe

Greg

Edited February 22, 200719 yr by griser