Tahini cuneiform document written 4000 years ago that describes the custom of serving the gods sesame wine. The historian Herodotus writes about the cultivation of sesame 3500 years ago in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia. It was mainly used as a source of oil. Tahini is mentioned as an ingredient of "hummus kasa", a recipe transcribed in an anonymous 13th-century Arabic cookbook, "Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada". Sesame paste is an ingredient in some Chinese and Japanese dishes; Sichuan cuisine uses it in some recipes for dandan noodles. Sesame paste is also used in Indian cuisine. In the
Amritsari Papar Warian appetizer or snack, with toppings such as chopped onions, carrots, chutney or other dips and condiments in parts of India. Papar is a low calorie value food but has a high sodium content. Amritsari Warian is also made similarly from dough prepared from mixture of urad dal ground to paste from hing, black pepper, red chili, coriander seeds, salt, cumin seeds etc. Paste is poured on sheets and spread for sun-drying in half round 5 cm balls. Warian which have been dried but not precooked are used in curries and vegetable dishes. These give the recipes a typical chili taste.