Assyrian cuisine tomato sauce and baked in the oven, not unlike the Levantine version of moussaka), "shamakhshi" (fried rolled eggplant stuffed with ground beef in tomato sauce), "Dolma" (rice and tomato sauce stuffed in grape leaves, cabbage, various peppers, zucchini, and eggplant), "Masgouf" (fish spiced with olive oil, salt, and turmeric, topped with tomatoes, potatoes, and onions then oven-baked) and "Lahmacun" (flatbread topped with ground beef, tomato paste, spices, and onions). Sesame seeds are important to the cuisine and used to make tahini, there is even an Assyrian folk tale about the gods drinking sesame wine on the night before they created
Tahini syrup, date syrup, honey, jams, etc. Ardeh and halvardeh are among the souvenirs of the Iranian cities of Yazd and Ardakan. In Cyprus, tahini, locally known as "tashi", is used as a dip for bread and in "pitta souvlaki" rather than "tzatziki", which is customary in Greece. In Greece, tahini () is used as a spread on bread either alone or topped with honey or jam. Jars of tahini ready-mixed with honey or cocoa are available in the breakfast food aisles of Greek supermarkets. In Israel, tahini ( "t'hina") is a staple foodstuff that was introduced by Arab Jews .