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
Ali Baba's Tahini the album "Limbo Boots". The departure of Engelmann, one of the band's main songwriters and singers, was a drastic change for the band. A few months later, Cinninger disbanded Ali Baba's Tahini to join Umphrey's McGee, where he remains to this day. Three years later in 2003, a four-man Ali Baba's Tahini (with Smylie on bass and Engelmann on guitar) reunited for a one-off performance in Niles, Michigan. The following year, the original lineup of the band (Engelmann/Cinninger/Krojniewski) reunited in the North Carolina mountains to record the album "Rockstars and Lawnmowers". Engelmann fronted Asheville-based rock band Mother Vinegar from 2004–2007,