Chicken Siniyeh – Chicken Breast Baked in Tahini with homemade raw tahini

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Mix the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Marinate the chicken in the mixture at least 1 hour, preferably overnight in the fridge.
3. 3
   Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
4. 4
   Arrange the chicken in a baking dish.

   Baking pan
5. 5
   Bake 25–30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
6. 6
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
7. 7
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
8. 8
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt.
9. 9
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is smooth, pale and pourable.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.
10. 10
    Pour the tahini sauce over the chicken and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

    OvenBaking pan
11. 11
    Serve hot with rice.