Tahini means "to grind", the same root as , "flour" in some dialects. There is also a sweet spread made from it called Halawa Taḥīniyya , which roughly translates as sweet Tahini. It is also known to be a type of Halva and sometimes has mashed or sliced pistachio pieces sprinkled inside or on top of it. Usually it is spread on bread and eaten as a quick snack. The word "tahini" appeared in English by the late 1930s. Plain, unprocessed sesame paste with no added ingredients is sometimes known as raw tahini. The oldest mention of sesame is in a
Hatay Province Defne, Arsuz and Payas. Hatay is warm enough to grow tropical crops such as sweet potato and sugar cane, and these are used in the local cuisine, along with other local specialities including a type of cucumber/squash called kitte. Well-known dishes of Hatay include the syrupy-pastry künefe, squash cooked in onions and tomato paste (sıhılmahsi), the aubergine and tahini paste (Baba ghanoush), and the chickpea and tahini paste hummus as well as dishes such as kebab which are found throughout Turkey. In general the people of Hatay produce many spicy dishes including the walnut and spice paste muhammara), the spicy