Who Can Identify These Food Dishes From Around The World?
- by Amber Arshad
- – on
- in Lifestyle
“There is no love sincerer than the love of food,” said George Bernard Shaw, the famed Irish playwright and political activist. And we can’t agree more! Apart from being a necessity to live (duh!), for most of us food is a source of pleasure, a conversation starter, and a gastronomical experience in itself. It has also directly given employment to millions – from the celebrated chefs to their apprentices, home cooks and those working in the restaurant industry. It is certainly not an exaggeration to say there are as many food dishes in this world as there are countries, cities and towns combined. Each country has a signature or a national dish, for which it prides itself in. And that dish has many regional variations.
In this yummilicious quiz, we have scoured the world and included dishes most popular in their country/region, their origins, culture and tradition surrounding it, and how most of them are now a global culinary experience. Some of them are super easy to guess, while some only a true connoisseur of fine dining can identify. Take the quiz to find out where you stand on the world-food quotient!
Warning: The quiz is sure to make you drool and probably order take-out or if you are the meticulous kind, even cook an elaborate dinner with the choicest ingredients!
The Indians love this dish!
A popular South Indian food, this dish has its origins in Tuluva Mangalorean cuisine. It’s a crispy rice-batter crepe with a filling of spicy mashed potato, which is then dipped in coconut chutney, pickles, tomato-and-lentil-based sauces and other condiments. This dish is considered a part of the ‘holy trinity of South Indian food’ – the other two being idli (pure-white saucer-shaped steamed rice cakes) and vada (deep-fried savory doughnuts). The Indians usually have it for breakfast or lunch, as it keeps one full for longer!
A Canadian concoction
A dish originating from the Canadian province of Quebec, this concoction consists of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It’s a Quebec street-food classic, considered a ‘comfort food’ and is so popular that it’s even served on the McDonald’s menu across Canada! The meat toppings can include roast chicken, peas, smoked beef, foie gras and even lobster! This dish can be super cheap or uber expensive – depending on how much the chef tinkers with the toppings.
Part of Levantine meze
This humble and healthy Middle Eastern Levantine spread, made with chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini has become a fridge staple all around the world. This tangy treat tastes good as a dip, with breads especially pita bread, with meats, with vegetables or even beans. It is also served as part of a meze or as an accompaniment to falafel, grilled chicken, fish or eggplant. Outside the Middle East, it is often served with tortilla chips and crackers.
A Vietnamese staple
A clear soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs (such as cinnamon, roasted ginger, onion, fennel seed, coriander seed and clove) and meat, primarily made with either beef or chicken, although there are vegetarian options as well. It is a popular street food in Vietnam – its style of making differs greatly by region though. The dish was originated in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam, and was popularized throughout the rest of the world by refugees after the Vietnam War.
A pepper delight!
The South African restaurant chain Nando's has made this Mozambican-Portuguese dish loved around the world. However, for the original dish head to Maputo, capital of Mozambique! The name of this dish is Swahili for ‘pepper pepper’ and the chili is mainly grown in Zambia, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This chilli pepper is a cultivar of capsicum and grows both wild and as a crop. This finger-licking feast of chicken is cooked with lime, pepper, garlic, coconut milk and its special chili sauce.
The best of sea and land!
Translated as mussels and fries, this dish is as common in Belgium as burgers and fries are in the US! As a dish, the mussels and fries are usually served on separate plates or dishes so that the fries do not become moist. There are different variations of this meal – the mussels can be steamed in white wine, enriched with cream, or with sliced and minced garlic. This concoction is s popular in Belgium that a Belgian musician, Stromae even performed a song name after this dish in his 2013 album, Racine Carrée!
A Valencian delight
This Spanish rice dish is like no other with ingredients like meat (chicken, duck, rabbit or seafood), white beans, saffron, rosemary and potatoes. It originated in Valencia, an eastern coastal city of Spain, where the two main ingredients - saffron and rice - grow. The authentic version of this dish is denser than a pilaf and drier than a risotto. The Valencians are so specific about this dish that they even heavily criticized Chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey for adding other ingredients in this traditional dish!
A dish so yummy, four countries claim to be its birthplace!
A widely-held theory regarding this dish is that the dish was invented in Egypt about 1000 years ago by Coptic Christians, who ate it as a replacement for meat during Lent. These bite-sized balls of fried chickpeas are now claimed as a national dish in at least four Middle Eastern countries, including Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Jordon. This meal is a delightful combination of ground chickpeas mixed with onion, parlsey, coriander or cumin and then deep-fried and served with hummus, fresh tomatoes, pickled cucumbers or tahini.
Instant food personified!
While this dish originated in China, the Japanese have perfected the art of this noodle soup, and in doing so have become obsessed with it. The noodles are made frm four basic ingredients: wheat, flour, water and ‘kansui’. The kansui is the distinguishing ingredient in these noodles, which gives them a yellowish hue as well as firm texture. However delicious as these noodles are, they are considered quite unhealthy because of the high amount of sodium and saturated fats in them.
Middle-Eastern layered sweetness!
This sweet, sticky dessert of layered pastry with honey and nuts is claimed as a national dish in both Turkey and Greece. It's also thought to have its origins in cuisine from the Roman Empire, or from Central Asia, or possibly even Iran. To make this dish, filo dough is spread into a thin sheet. Bite size servings of a mix of dates, almonds, pistachios, butter and honey are placed on the dough, rolled over the filling and then baked in the oven till the outer layer is crisp and golden.
Quintessentially Korean!
A staple in Korean cuisine, this is a traditional side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage and Korean radishes, with a variety of seasonings including chili powder, scallions, garlic, ginger, and salted seafood. It is a part of ‘banchan’, a collective name for small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. In traditional preparations, it was stored underground in jars to keep cool, and unfrozen during the winter months. Lastly, there are over 180 varieties of this dish!
Meringue magnificence
Australians proudly call this dessert their own – unfortunately, so do the Kiwis! This dish is named after a Russian ballet dancer who toured both Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. The Oxford English Dictionary has however declared New Zealand to be the country of origin. A meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, it is usually topped with strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, blackberries, passion fruit and whipped cream. Famous chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson have also concocted their version of this delicious sweet!
Indian assortment
Technically, this is not really a dish, rather a style of eating, in which various dishes are served on a round platter. This style of eating is popular in South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka Bangladesh and Malaysia. The idea is to offer all the six different flavors of sweet, salt, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy on one single plate. Typical dishes include rice, lentils, vegetables, chapatti or roti, chutney and a sweet dish like kheer or halwa.
Swiss decadence
This dish comprises melted cheese served in a communal pot over a portable stove heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. It was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930s, and was popularized in North America in the 1960s. According to tradition, if a man loses his bread in the pot, he buys drinks all around. Also, etiquettes require that each morsel should be put in the pot only once (no double-dipping)!
"Excellent rice"
A northern Afghan dish and a variation of pilaf, this dish consists of steamed rice mixed with vegetables, dry fruits and meat (lamb/chicken/beef). It is one of the most popular dishes in Afghanistan and is considered the Afghan national dish. The meaning translates to 'Excellent/outstanding rice'. It is baked in the oven and can be topped with fried sliced carrots, raisins, orange peel strips, and chopped nuts like pistachios or almonds. The meat is covered by the rice or buried in the rice mixture.
A Greek staple
This Greek dish made of meat, traditionally pork, chicken or lamb, and outside Greece with beef and veal, is cooked on a vertical rotisserie, and usually served wrapped in a flatbread such as pita, with tomato, onion and chili sauce. This Mediterranean wrap or sandwich is essentially derived from doner kebab. Greek historians believe that the dish originated during Alexander the Great’s time, when his soldiers used their long knives to skewer meat and kept turning the meat over fires to cook it.
Savoury finger food!
A fried or baked dish with a filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, or lentils, this savoury is a super popular dish in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middle East and even Africa. Its size and consistency may vary region to region, but typically it is triangular or tetrahedral in shape. It is made with all-purpose flour locally known as maida shell stuffed with the filling. The entire pastry is then deep-fried in vegetable oil or rarely ghee to a golden brown color. It is served hot and often eaten with fresh green chutney, such as mint, coriander, or tamarind.
Delicious contortion!
Also known as zulbia and zalabia, this is a popular sweet food in some parts of South Asia, West Asia, North Africa and East Africa. It is made by deep-frying maida flour (plain flour or all-purpose flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. Occasionally lime juice or rose water is added to the syrup as well. It is particularly popular in India, Pakistan and Iran – especially during festivities like diwali. This dessert can be served warm or cold.
A sub-continental luxury!
A spicy mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, this dish is extremely popular as regular staple and also as a festive dish. It is popular throughout the Indian subcontinent and among the diaspora from the region. It is made with spices, rice and meat (chicken, mutton, beef, prawn, or fish) and vegetables (usually potato). Pulao is a similar dish, although it is much less spicy. Another variation of this dish is Tehri, a vegetarian version of this dish.
Fruity fish
Despite this food’s unhappy origins as slave food, Jamaicans have reclaimed it as part of their national dish. A nutritious fruit with a buttery-nutty flavor, it looks like scrambled egg when boiled. Jamaicans sauté the boiled fruit with salt-cured cod fish, onions and tomatoes. Sometimes the dish is served atop deep-fried cassava and plantains (cooking banana). Jamaicans also sometimes eat it with rice and peas or plain white rice. When onion, escallion, thyme, garlic and saltfish are combined with plain rice it is called seasoned rice which is a one pot meal usually consumed on Fridays as an inexpensive dinner.
Beef perfection
This dish comprises thinly sliced, prime cuts of meat (usually sirloin, rib eye or brisket) marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, onions, ginger, sugar and wine and then grilled. It is often eaten wrapped in lettuce or spinach leaves and accompanied by kimchi (fermented vegetable pickle). The dish originated from the north area of the Korean Peninsula and is also very popular in South Korea Many Korean restaurants have miniature barbecues embedded in tables where diners can grill the meat themselves.
Imperially yours!
One of the most expensive dishes of the world, this glazed, roasted duck is an ancient dish that has been made in the Beijing area for over a thousand years. The meat is characterized by its thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat. Ducks are specially bred and slaughtered after 65 days. They are then delicately seasoned before roasted in a closed or hung oven. The dish has even been known to be a favourite of Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and former German chancellor Helmut Kohl!
Ubiquitously US!
This dish may not be super fancy and certainly not rare, but it is definitely one of the most popular meals of the world! Although its origin is debatable, this dish is the lifeblood of people in the US. There are few things in life as pleasurable as the first bite of the juices, the crunch of pickle, the smoky, sweetness of caramelized onion, and the tang of melted cheese! There are many international and regional variations of this yummy staple.
The French connection!
Considered a luxury food, this French dish is made from the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. By French law, this dish is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding corn with a feeding tube, a process also known as gavage. Its flavor is described as rich, buttery and delicate, unlike that of an ordinary duck or goose liver. This dish has attracted immense amount of controversy all over the world, with many restaurants and retailers explicitly declaring a ban on selling it.
Some like it hot!
A dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains, it can be served as a hot porridge or allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. This dish is a staple of Northern Italian cuisine (and to a lesser extent, Central Italian) and its consumption was traditionally associated with lower classes. This dish takes a long time to cook, simmering in four to five times its volume of watery liquid for about 45 minutes with near-constant stirring.