Tahini is a paste made of ground sesame seeds which are used in many near eastern, middle eastern and far eastern recipes. This is a traditional recipe that is very simple to make with a blender or food processor. Sesame seed paste, or tahini, is used in recipes for middle eastern hummus, a dip made from chickpeas, baba ghanouj, an eggplant dip also spelled baba ghannouj, baba ghanoush and baba ganoush, and halva, among other dishes. Sesame seeds are considered to bring good luck and are seen in many foods, especially around new year's. This recipe makes 1/2 cup of tahini, so if your recipe calls for more (as a halva recipe would), then double, triple or quadruple the proportions in this recipe, as needed.