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Quiz: Food and the Table

Test your understanding of Chapter 8. Choose the best answer, then click Show Answer to check.

Question 1

What is a thali?

  1. A spice blend that always includes cinnamon and cloves
  2. A large round plate holding a full meal, with small bowls around a staple
  3. A clay oven used to bake naan
  4. A sweet made from milk boiled down until thick
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. A thali is a round plate, usually metal, holding a complete meal: a staple in the center and katori (small bowls) of dal, vegetables, a sweet and more around it. The clay oven is a tandoor, and the spice blend described is a masala.

Concept Tested: Thali Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 2

Where did chili peppers originally come from?

  1. The Western Ghats of India
  2. The hills of Assam
  3. Persia, by way of the Mughal court
  4. The Americas, carried by Portuguese traders
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Chili peppers are native to the Americas. They spread around the world in the Columbian Exchange, and Portuguese traders brought them to India through Goa in the 1500s. Many people assume chilies are native to India because they are now used so widely there.

Concept Tested: Columbian Exchange Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 3

In a 2019-2020 Pew Research Center survey of Indian adults, about what share said they were vegetarian?

  1. 39%
  2. 81%
  3. 92%
  4. 8%
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. 39% of Indian adults said they were vegetarian. 81% is the share who limit meat in some way, 92% is the figure for Jains only, and 8% is the figure for Muslims only.

Concept Tested: Vegetarianism in South Asia Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 4

Why is rice the staple grain in Bangladesh while wheat is the staple in Punjab?

  1. Religious rules in Bangladesh forbid eating wheat
  2. Wheat was brought by the British and only reached Punjab
  3. Rice needs heat and lots of water, which the delta provides, while wheat grows well in Punjab's cooler, drier winters on irrigated plains
  4. Rice is cheaper to import by sea than wheat
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Staple grains follow climate and water. The monsoon-soaked Ganga-Brahmaputra delta suits rice, and the irrigated plains of the Indus and its tributaries, with cool winters, suit wheat. No faith in the region forbids wheat, and wheat was grown in South Asia long before British rule.

Concept Tested: Staple Grains Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 5

Which statement best describes tadka?

  1. Whole spices fried briefly in hot oil or ghee and poured over a dish to add flavor
  2. A ready-made curry powder sold mainly in Europe
  3. A way of slow-cooking rice and meat in layers
  4. A rule about which hand to eat with
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Tadka (tempering) means frying whole spices for a few seconds in hot fat and pouring the sizzling mix over dal or another dish. Layered rice and meat describes biryani, not tadka.

Concept Tested: Tadka Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 6

Why is naan less common as everyday home food in India than roti?

  1. Naan is forbidden by several faiths
  2. Naan is usually baked in a tandoor, which most homes don't have
  3. Naan can only be made from millet flour
  4. Naan was invented in the United States
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Naan is a leavened bread slapped onto the wall of a very hot tandoor oven, so in India it is mostly a restaurant or special-occasion bread. Roti is cooked on a simple flat griddle at home. In Afghanistan and many Pakistani cities, though, bakery naan is everyday bread.

Concept Tested: Roti and Naan Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 7

Ben is hosting a club movie night. Ayesha keeps halal, Simran's family is vegetarian, and Arjun eats everything. Which plan is most respectful of everyone's dietary rules?

  1. Order pepperoni pizza, since most people like it
  2. Order only chicken wings and tell everyone to pick off what they can't eat
  3. Order one vegetarian dish and assume it covers everyone
  4. Ask guests about food rules ahead of time, include clearly labeled vegetarian food, and get any meat from a halal source
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Asking ahead and labeling dishes is the chapter's advice, and halal meat plus vegetarian options covers both guests. Pepperoni usually contains pork, which isn't halal. A single vegetarian dish without asking could still miss other rules, such as avoiding alcohol in sauces.

Concept Tested: Dietary Rules and Faith Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 8

Zara's Nanu is making dal and starts by frying fenugreek, cumin, nigella, black mustard and fennel seeds in oil. Based on the chapter, which region's tradition is she most likely following?

  1. Punjab
  2. Kerala
  3. Bengal, using panch phoron
  4. Gujarat, using hing alone
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Those five whole seeds make panch phoron, the five-spice mix used in tadka in Bangladesh and eastern India. That fits Zara's family from Chattogram. Kerala cooks more often temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Concept Tested: Masala Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 9

West Bengal received a Geographical Indication tag for "Banglar Rasogolla" in 2017, and Odisha received one for "Odisha Rasagola" in 2019. What does this best show?

  1. Two places can each have a real, distinct version of a sweet, and its single origin may stay debated
  2. The government decided Odisha invented the rasgulla
  3. Rasgulla is no longer made in Bengal
  4. Mithai can only be sold where they were invented
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. The tags were given to two different versions of the sweet, not to one "true" origin, and the history of where rasgulla began is still debated. The 2019 tag did not cancel West Bengal's tag or declare an inventor.

Concept Tested: Mithai Bloom's Level: Analyze

Question 10

Which comparison best explains why Bhutan's ema datshi and Punjab's makki di roti are both examples of the Columbian Exchange?

  1. Both were invented by Portuguese cooks in Goa
  2. Both depend on crops from the Americas: chili in ema datshi and maize in makki di roti
  3. Both are sweets served at festivals
  4. Both use wheat brought from Europe
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Ema datshi is built on chili peppers and makki di roti on maize, and both crops came from the Americas after 1492. Local cooks, not Portuguese ones, created these dishes from the new ingredients.

Concept Tested: Columbian Exchange Bloom's Level: Analyze