Tahini used as a cooking sauce for meat and always served as a side with fish. It is also a main ingredient in a seafood dish called Siyadiyeh. Tahini is in sweet desserts like halva and halva with pistachios. In East Asia, sesame paste () is a major condiment used in dry noodles (hot or cold). Sesame paste can also be eaten as a dessert, known as black sesame soup. Tahini is a source of calcium, manganese, the amino acid methionine, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Tahini made from raw sesame seeds is lower in fat than tahini made from
Tahini called "tahin-pekmez". Due to its high-caloric nature, it is served as a breakfast item or after meals as a dessert to dip pieces of bread in, especially during the wintertime. In Iraq, tahini is known as "rashi" and is mixed with date syrup (rub) to make a sweet dessert usually eaten with bread. Tahini is called "ardeh" () in Persian and "harda" in Kuwait. In Iran it is used to make "halvardeh" (), a kind of halva made of tahini, sugar, egg whites, and other ingredients. It is also eaten during breakfast, usually with an accompanying sweet substance, usually grape