Cyprus Tahini Roll - Tahinli Sarma

A tahini roll (Tahinopites) or tahini bread-roll is found commonly in the cuisines of Arab countries, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey as a sweet pastry consumed withe hot drinks like tea mainly.

In Cyprus, you can find them on every corner around the streets. You can find them on the stalls, bike-trolleys and surely beautiful bakeries selling Tahini Roll. 

There are many names of this pastry however you can guess by the sound of it, they all are the same meaning. By region/country the name varies. Arabian territories call them "khubz tahini". In Armenia they use the name Թահինով Հաց. In the Greek language it is known as ταχινόπιττα (tahinopitta) or τασιηνόπιττα (tasinopitta); in Cypriot Greek the pronunciation is "tashinopita" with a "sh" sound as opposed to "h" in mainland Greek.In the Turkish language, the general term is tahinli çörek, although in Cypriot Turkish it is known simply as tahınlı or tahınnı.

The dough includes sugar and oil and has a texture between a bread and a cookie. It is leavened with yeast and can be baked after the first rise. Sometimes the pastry may be soaked in syrup of sugar or honey, and flavored with cinnamon. Tahini rolls are made by rolling the dough flat, spreading it with the tahini mixture, sprinkling with sugar, and rolling into a log shape. The dough is then sliced into smaller pieces and flattened to form a circle. According to Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi, the pastry originates in Armenia.