{Longread} Celebrating Sesame!

In Maharashtra, sesame is best known for its use in Til laddus  proffered as ambassadors of goodwill at Sankrant with the words ‘til gud ghya, god god bola” (eat sweet and speak sweet) and in the west sesame is best recognised as a garnish on buns. But go past Sesame’s most obvious uses and the culinary versatility of these seeds will inspire an “open sesame” moment bursting with possibility for you! Clichéd as that may sound, this phrase synonymous with Sesame, (deriving from the sound - like a lock spring opening – that ripe sesame seeds make when they burst out of their pods) seems appropriate to open a post on Sesame with! 

Sesame Indicum, originated in India and has been used in the Indian kitchen for millennia. Domesticated more than 3000 years ago it is one of the oldest oil-seeds known to humans and continues to be an ingredient of significance today. It is recommended and eaten in the winter because it is considered warming. No wonder then that our grandmothers fed us oodles of Til laddus, chikkis, gajak and revdi in the winters! But that is not the only reason we should be eating a lot more of this super food, not just saving it for festive occasions. Yes, you read right! Sesame is a Super food. It carries a mega punch in its little seeds! It has thrice the calcium, of milk (1 tbsp of Sesame contains 52 calories, 88 mg Calcium, 1.3 mg Iron, 32 mg Magnesium). It is also rich in vitamin A, some B vitamins, is a source of healthy fat, Methionine and Tryptophan and a significant source of other amino acids that make it an exceptional stabilizer of amino acids in vegetarian diets when combined with grains and legumes. 

Sesame has been used in kitchens worldwide for millennia and continues to be an ingredient of significance today. The little oval seeds of Sesame come in three main colours; an un-husked version in shades varying from off white to beige dark brown and black and a husked uniformly creamy white sesame. A wonderful ingredient in itself, it is extremely versatile, and lends itself to sweet and savoury dishes. Tap into their goodness to fortify the flavour and health of everyday meals. Add them raw to smoothies, toast and sprinkle whole into salads, swap butter for sesame butter or Tahina, powder and knead into dough or use to thicken soups, gravies and curries. Here are some ways I use sesame in my kitchen…

Being an oilseed, Sesame is prone to turning rancid quickly, so I recommend you roast them and store in air tight containers as soon as you can. (You can use sesame raw but a little heat therapy enhances its inherent nutty flavours a thousand fold and increases its shelf life). Plus, having ready roasted seeds on hand has interesting benefits. The toasted seeds can go into ANYTHING - porridge, atta, salad, chaat... you name it, to add tasty, healthy crunch. Plus they make an attractive garnish for anything from appetizers to desserts. Sprinkle them onto anything to add health and flavour to everyday meals. 

Nutty Sesame typically goes beautifully with many ingredients, it will work well with most spices, but works well with cumin and chilli in particular. It pairs well with most herbs, particularly Parsley, Oregano and Tarragon. It is also fabulous with many sour flavours like lemons, tomatoes, yogurt. It also works beautifully with lentils of all kinds, rice and almost all the other grains, it works well with almost all vegetables, raw and cooked, although I am partial to it with leafy greens like spinach and kale. In fact I would say there is little you cannot do with Sesame!

In Idian cuisine, especially in Gujarati food, Sesame is often added whole to tadkas along with cumin and curry leaves for farsans and snacks, adding healthy crunch to many dishes like Dhoklas, Khandvi, Patra and more. (I suspect to assist the body in assimilating the nutrition of these dishes). 

Whole Sesame is also great addition to spice and herb mixes. Some favourites include Japanese Gomasio, Middle Eastern cuisine, the many versions of Maharashtrian Tilkut...  Gomasio, is a condiment ubiquitous at the Japanese table. Consisting of toasted sesame ground coarsely with salt it is great with anything from a simple bowl of brown rice to salads, noodles, steamed vegetables, even khichdi. I make mine using granular sea salt and toasted white and black sesame. (Just fill in pepper mill and keep handy). Zahtar, is an everyday spice mix popularly mixed with olive oil and used as a dip or spread for pita bread. It's also used to flavour meat and vegetables dishes, sprinkled on Labneh (a thick hung yogurt dip) or on fried eggs as a garnish. But, it is fab on naan and kulcha, in raitas and even sprinkled on chunks of grilled paneer or chicken. But why stop there, you could also get creative by combining sesame with other ingredients to make interesting spice mixes and seasonings that enhance the nutrition of any dish they are added to. 

Something I discovered a few years ago was sprouted Sesame. An interesting way to eat whole sesame is as sprouts. Not being as robust as other sprouting friendly seeds, sesame need a little careful handling but yields delicious results. To sprout, soak a cup of un-husked sesame in water until swollen (a few hours). Drain, dry thoroughly, by rubbing gently with kitchen paper and spread thinly in a casserole or airtight flat container with a sheet of kitchen paper underneath. Leave at room temperature for a few hours and refrigerate overnight. You will see tiny little sprouts sticking out of the pointy end of the sesame seeds in the morning.  I typically add to salads, clear soups or stirred into hot rice with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and salt.

Grinding toasted sesame opens up a whole new range of flavours. Although South India is best known for its use of sesame, I have discovered that the cuisine of Uttarakhand uses a lot of ground sesame in its winter dishes. Crushed Sesame adds a nutty accent when stirred into Lobia and Udad Khichdi (Udad Khichdi is eaten on Sankrant). It also adds its nuttiness tothe piquant Khatte Aloo a dish in which boiled potatoes are cooked in a mixture of yogurt, toasted sesame powder, lime and chillies. But two of my absolute favourite sesame dishes of this region are Garhwali Til ki Chutney and Pinni ka Saag. In the chutney toasted ground sesame is ground with toasted cumin, ginger, green chillies, and ground into a beautifully textured chutney with the juice of the Bada Nimbu (large wild lemons that come into season in the winter), and Pinni ka saag is a “Saag” or gravy my grandmother - in - law legendarily made from Pinni or compressed seed cakes left over from the oil extraction process of Sesame. With the oil removed, these become extremely high in protein and dietary fibre and were cooked into a delicious gravy preparation eaten with rice. I don't have access to Pinni, so I crush Sesame in a mortar and leave it in the sun in a strainer for the oil to drain out. Then I use the dry leftover meal to make the Pinni ka Saag.

When you grind Sesame until it gives forth its oil you also get Tahini or Sesame butter, a staple condiment in the Middle East and very versatile to have on hand. Sesame makes a great butter because it is extremely high in its oil content. It also offers a omega 3, protein and fiber rich alternative to regular butter. Stir it into hummus the traditional way or swirl into yogurt for an instant dip, add honey to that combination and you have a quick dessert dip for fruit. Substitute it for peanut butter to make sesame satay or use it to add body to fortify soups and even Indian gravies.  

Sesame is typically pressed for its oil. In fact it is one of the oldest oil-seeds in the world. Cold pressed ‘Gingelly’ oil is the oldest recorded oil used in Indian cuisine but considering how long we have been pressing sesame for oil, it is confounding that nobody thought to toast the seed prior to extracting its oil... Something that the rest of Asia has been using for millennia to produce the most magical ingredient, Toasted Sesame oil! This fabulous ingredient is available at fine food stores in small 250 ml bottles and it is vastly different from its local cold pressed cousin. The roasting process intensifies the nutty sesame flavour so Toasted Sesame oil is used more as a condiment or flavouring oil and a little goes a long way. Drizzle over poached or fried eggs, replace it for other oils in dressings and dips, swirl a few drops into soups, marinate tofu or chicken in it with a little garlic, honey and lemon juice and panfry for a quick and interesting dish. In fact it even goes well drizzled over ice creams! You will be amazed at how important it becomes in your kitchen!

Sesame’s nutty flavours work beautifully in both savoury and sweet dishes, the plethora of laddus and chikkis in Indian cuisine are testament to this fact. That said, Sesame is also used in sweet preparations around the world. All over the Middle East you will find Sesame Halva. Nothing like our Indian halvas this is made of sesame paste and sugar, and is available in large blocks, from which it is sliced off and sold by weight. It is just delicious, almost toffee like it just melts in the mouth and glides down the throat! Like all things Sesame it is hard to stop eating it! Many Asian cuisines do versions of Black Sesame Soup a subtly sweet, nutty custard like dessert soup often served with ice cream. Of course we in India also have some lovely Sesame desserts like the Assamese Til Pitha, Sindhi Sesame fudge and more. In fact in India Sesame is often also part of many after meal palatte cleansing mixtures as well. 

Why only savour Sesame on festive occaissions, lets tap into its goodness in our everyday meals!

Recipe - 
Sesame and Yogurt Gratinated Potatoes 

Garhwali urad Dal Khichdi with Sesame (Link goes to Mumbai Mirror Article on some fab Khichdis)