Indian Food Quiz
Butter chicken, dosa, vindaloo and vada pav: 15 questions on the food of India.
Ghee, the cooking fat used across India, is a form of what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Clarified butter
Ghee is butter that has been simmered until the water evaporates and the milk solids brown and are strained out, leaving pure golden fat. It keeps for months without refrigeration and can be heated to high temperatures without burning.
Ghee has been used in India for thousands of years and plays a role in Hindu rituals, where it fuels lamps and is poured into sacred fires.
Paneer, used in dishes such as palak paneer and paneer tikka, is a type of what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Fresh cheese
Paneer is a fresh, unaged cheese made by curdling hot milk with lemon juice or vinegar and pressing the curds into a firm block. Because it is made without rennet it is acceptable to most vegetarians, and it holds its shape when fried or grilled.
Unlike most cheeses paneer does not melt, which is why cubes of it stay intact in a simmering curry.
What does the name of the spice blend garam masala literally mean?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Warm spices
Garam means hot or warming and masala means a mix of spices, so garam masala is a blend of warming spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin and black pepper. It is usually added near the end of cooking to keep its aroma.
The heat in the name refers to the warming effect the spices are believed to have on the body in Ayurvedic tradition, not to chilli heat.
Lassi, the chilled drink served sweet, salted or flavoured with mango, is based on what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Yogurt
Lassi is yogurt blended with water or milk and either sugar and fruit or salt and spices such as roasted cumin. It originated in Punjab, where it is traditionally churned in a clay pot and served in tall steel tumblers.
A rich Punjabi lassi may be topped with a spoonful of malai, the thick cream that rises on boiled milk.
The fermented batter for a dosa is made from rice and which pulse?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Black gram
Dosa batter combines soaked rice with urad dal, the split black gram, ground together and left to ferment overnight. The fermentation gives the thin, crisp South Indian crepe its tangy flavour and lacy texture.
The same batter, made thicker, is steamed into soft idli cakes, and a masala dosa is folded around a filling of spiced potatoes.
Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is credited to the Moti Mahal restaurant in which city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Delhi
Butter chicken was developed in the 1950s at Moti Mahal in Old Delhi, founded by Kundan Lal Gujral and his partners after they fled Peshawar at Partition. Leftover tandoori chicken was simmered in a rich sauce of butter, tomato and cream to keep it moist.
In 2024 the Gujral and Jaggi families went to court in Delhi over which of their grandfathers actually invented the dish.
Chicken tikka masala is widely believed to have been created in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
United Kingdom
Chicken tikka masala was almost certainly invented by South Asian cooks in Britain, with Glasgow's Shish Mahal restaurant among several claimants. The grilled chicken was given a creamy spiced tomato sauce to suit British diners who wanted gravy.
In 2001 Foreign Secretary Robin Cook called chicken tikka masala a true British national dish and a symbol of how Britain absorbs outside influences.
Vindaloo, the fiery dish from Goa, developed from a marinade of garlic and vinegar brought by colonists from which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Portugal
Vindaloo comes from the Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos, meat marinated in wine vinegar and garlic, which sailors carried to Goa in the 16th century. Goan cooks replaced the wine with palm vinegar and added plenty of chillies and spices.
The potatoes often found in British vindaloos are a later addition, probably because the second half of the name sounds like aloo, the Hindi word for potato.
Rogan josh, lamb braised in a red sauce coloured with dried chillies, is a signature dish of which region?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Kashmir
Rogan josh is a cornerstone of Kashmiri cooking and a centrepiece of the wazwan, the elaborate Kashmiri feast. Its deep red colour comes from mild Kashmiri chillies and often the dried cockscomb flower, not from tomatoes.
The dish was brought to Kashmir by the Mughals, and its name is usually explained as meaning red juice or stewed in oil in Persian.
Gulab jamun, the dark brown balls soaked in rose-scented syrup, are traditionally made from which ingredient?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Reduced milk solids
Gulab jamun are made from khoya, milk that has been simmered until it thickens into soft solids, which is kneaded with a little flour, shaped into balls, deep-fried and steeped in cardamom and rosewater syrup.
The name comes from gulab, meaning rosewater, and jamun, a purple Indian fruit of similar size and colour.
Dhokla, the spongy steamed savoury cake made from fermented batter, is a speciality of which state?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Gujarat
Dhokla is a Gujarati snack made from a fermented batter of chickpea flour or rice and split chickpeas, steamed into a light sponge and finished with a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies.
Gujarati food is mostly vegetarian and often balances sweet, salty and spicy flavours in the same dish, with a pinch of sugar in many savoury recipes.
Vada pav, a spiced potato fritter in a soft bread roll, is the signature street food of which city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mumbai
Vada pav was created in Mumbai, where vendor Ashok Vaidya is credited with selling the first ones outside Dadar railway station in 1966. The batter-fried potato ball is served in a pav roll with garlic chutney and fried green chillies.
The pav bread itself is a legacy of the Portuguese in western India, and the word comes from the Portuguese pão.
Sadya, a vegetarian feast of many dishes served on a banana leaf for the Onam festival, belongs to which state?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Kerala
Sadya is the grand feast of Kerala, served on a fresh banana leaf and eaten with the right hand. A full Onam sadya can include more than 20 dishes, from sambar and avial to payasam, the sweet milky pudding served at the end.
Kerala cooking leans heavily on coconut in every form, and its spice trade drew Arab, Portuguese and Dutch merchants for centuries.
Mumbai's famous dabbawalas spend each day delivering what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Home-cooked lunches
The dabbawalas collect freshly cooked lunches in stacked metal tiffin boxes from homes across Mumbai, move them by train and bicycle using a colour code, and deliver them to offices in time for lunch, returning the empty boxes in the afternoon.
The system began in 1890 and has been studied by Harvard Business School for its remarkably low error rate despite relying on little technology.
Asafoetida, the pungent spice known as hing, is obtained from which part of a plant?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The root resin
Asafoetida is the dried gum resin tapped from the thick roots of giant fennel plants of the Ferula genus, mostly grown in Afghanistan and Iran. Its raw smell is sulphurous, but fried briefly in oil it adds a savoury onion and garlic flavour.
Hing is especially important in Jain and some Hindu kitchens that avoid onion and garlic, and it has long been used as a digestive aid.
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All Food and Drink quizzes →About the Indian Food Quiz
Indian food is really dozens of regional cuisines sharing a spice box. Butter chicken was improvised from leftover tandoori chicken at a Delhi restaurant in the 1950s, vindaloo began as a Portuguese garlic and vinegar marinade in Goa, and Mumbai's dabbawalas deliver around 200,000 home-cooked lunches a day with almost no mistakes.
These 15 questions open with the kitchen basics of ghee, paneer and garam masala, then travel from Kashmir's rogan josh to Kerala's banana-leaf feasts, with stops in Gujarat, Goa and Mumbai and a question on the British invention of chicken tikka masala. It suits curry-house regulars and anyone curious about what is really on the plate.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What does the Indian Food Quiz cover?
It covers staple ingredients such as ghee and paneer, famous dishes including butter chicken, vindaloo and rogan josh, regional specialities and street food from Mumbai.
Is the Indian Food Quiz suitable for beginners?
Yes. The first five questions are easy for anyone who eats Indian food, and every answer comes with an explanation, so you learn as you go.
Does the quiz include British Indian restaurant dishes?
One question covers chicken tikka masala, which was most likely created in Britain, and the explanation tells the story behind it.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Ghee, the cooking fat used across India, is a form of what?
Clarified butter Ghee is butter that has been simmered until the water evaporates and the milk solids brown and are strained out, leaving pure golden fat. It keeps for months without refrigeration and can be heated to high temperatures without burning. Ghee has been used in India for thousands of years and plays a role in Hindu rituals, where it fuels lamps and is poured into sacred fires. - Paneer, used in dishes such as palak paneer and paneer tikka, is a type of what?
Fresh cheese Paneer is a fresh, unaged cheese made by curdling hot milk with lemon juice or vinegar and pressing the curds into a firm block. Because it is made without rennet it is acceptable to most vegetarians, and it holds its shape when fried or grilled. Unlike most cheeses paneer does not melt, which is why cubes of it stay intact in a simmering curry. - What does the name of the spice blend garam masala literally mean?
Warm spices Garam means hot or warming and masala means a mix of spices, so garam masala is a blend of warming spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin and black pepper. It is usually added near the end of cooking to keep its aroma. The heat in the name refers to the warming effect the spices are believed to have on the body in Ayurvedic tradition, not to chilli heat. - Lassi, the chilled drink served sweet, salted or flavoured with mango, is based on what?
Yogurt Lassi is yogurt blended with water or milk and either sugar and fruit or salt and spices such as roasted cumin. It originated in Punjab, where it is traditionally churned in a clay pot and served in tall steel tumblers. A rich Punjabi lassi may be topped with a spoonful of malai, the thick cream that rises on boiled milk. - The fermented batter for a dosa is made from rice and which pulse?
Black gram Dosa batter combines soaked rice with urad dal, the split black gram, ground together and left to ferment overnight. The fermentation gives the thin, crisp South Indian crepe its tangy flavour and lacy texture. The same batter, made thicker, is steamed into soft idli cakes, and a masala dosa is folded around a filling of spiced potatoes. - Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is credited to the Moti Mahal restaurant in which city?
Delhi Butter chicken was developed in the 1950s at Moti Mahal in Old Delhi, founded by Kundan Lal Gujral and his partners after they fled Peshawar at Partition. Leftover tandoori chicken was simmered in a rich sauce of butter, tomato and cream to keep it moist. In 2024 the Gujral and Jaggi families went to court in Delhi over which of their grandfathers actually invented the dish. - Chicken tikka masala is widely believed to have been created in which country?
United Kingdom Chicken tikka masala was almost certainly invented by South Asian cooks in Britain, with Glasgow's Shish Mahal restaurant among several claimants. The grilled chicken was given a creamy spiced tomato sauce to suit British diners who wanted gravy. In 2001 Foreign Secretary Robin Cook called chicken tikka masala a true British national dish and a symbol of how Britain absorbs outside influences. - Vindaloo, the fiery dish from Goa, developed from a marinade of garlic and vinegar brought by colonists from which country?
Portugal Vindaloo comes from the Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos, meat marinated in wine vinegar and garlic, which sailors carried to Goa in the 16th century. Goan cooks replaced the wine with palm vinegar and added plenty of chillies and spices. The potatoes often found in British vindaloos are a later addition, probably because the second half of the name sounds like aloo, the Hindi word for potato. - Rogan josh, lamb braised in a red sauce coloured with dried chillies, is a signature dish of which region?
Kashmir Rogan josh is a cornerstone of Kashmiri cooking and a centrepiece of the wazwan, the elaborate Kashmiri feast. Its deep red colour comes from mild Kashmiri chillies and often the dried cockscomb flower, not from tomatoes. The dish was brought to Kashmir by the Mughals, and its name is usually explained as meaning red juice or stewed in oil in Persian. - Gulab jamun, the dark brown balls soaked in rose-scented syrup, are traditionally made from which ingredient?
Reduced milk solids Gulab jamun are made from khoya, milk that has been simmered until it thickens into soft solids, which is kneaded with a little flour, shaped into balls, deep-fried and steeped in cardamom and rosewater syrup. The name comes from gulab, meaning rosewater, and jamun, a purple Indian fruit of similar size and colour. - Dhokla, the spongy steamed savoury cake made from fermented batter, is a speciality of which state?
Gujarat Dhokla is a Gujarati snack made from a fermented batter of chickpea flour or rice and split chickpeas, steamed into a light sponge and finished with a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Gujarati food is mostly vegetarian and often balances sweet, salty and spicy flavours in the same dish, with a pinch of sugar in many savoury recipes. - Vada pav, a spiced potato fritter in a soft bread roll, is the signature street food of which city?
Mumbai Vada pav was created in Mumbai, where vendor Ashok Vaidya is credited with selling the first ones outside Dadar railway station in 1966. The batter-fried potato ball is served in a pav roll with garlic chutney and fried green chillies. The pav bread itself is a legacy of the Portuguese in western India, and the word comes from the Portuguese pão. - Sadya, a vegetarian feast of many dishes served on a banana leaf for the Onam festival, belongs to which state?
Kerala Sadya is the grand feast of Kerala, served on a fresh banana leaf and eaten with the right hand. A full Onam sadya can include more than 20 dishes, from sambar and avial to payasam, the sweet milky pudding served at the end. Kerala cooking leans heavily on coconut in every form, and its spice trade drew Arab, Portuguese and Dutch merchants for centuries. - Mumbai's famous dabbawalas spend each day delivering what?
Home-cooked lunches The dabbawalas collect freshly cooked lunches in stacked metal tiffin boxes from homes across Mumbai, move them by train and bicycle using a colour code, and deliver them to offices in time for lunch, returning the empty boxes in the afternoon. The system began in 1890 and has been studied by Harvard Business School for its remarkably low error rate despite relying on little technology. - Asafoetida, the pungent spice known as hing, is obtained from which part of a plant?
The root resin Asafoetida is the dried gum resin tapped from the thick roots of giant fennel plants of the Ferula genus, mostly grown in Afghanistan and Iran. Its raw smell is sulphurous, but fried briefly in oil it adds a savoury onion and garlic flavour. Hing is especially important in Jain and some Hindu kitchens that avoid onion and garlic, and it has long been used as a digestive aid.
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