Q 01/05

Which silvery fish, a herring relative prized in Bengali kitchens, is the national fish of Bangladesh?

A) Pabda

B) Hilsa

C) Pomfret

D) Catla

Answer · why

B) Hilsa

Hilsa is caught in such numbers that Bangladesh is the world's top producer, and its festival-season shipments to India were nicknamed Hilsa Diplomacy...

Q 02/05

Which spongy Bengali sweet of chhena balls in syrup won West Bengal a geographical indication tag?

A) Rasgulla

B) Jalebi

C) Kaju katli

D) Soan papdi

Answer · why

A) Rasgulla

Rasgulla as Bengal knows it is credited to Kolkata confectioner Nobin Chandra Das, whose son later vacuum-packed it in cans and carried its fame far b...

Q 03/05

Which Kolkata street food, said to have begun at Nizam restaurant, is named after bamboo kebab skewers?

A) Seekh kebab

B) Chicken tikka

C) Kathi roll

D) Bombay frankie

Answer · why

C) Kathi roll

Kathi roll takes its name from kati, the Bengali word for stick, which caught on after Nizam swapped its heavy iron skewers for bamboo ones in 1964.

Q 04/05

Which vegetable sets Kolkata biryani apart, in a recipe credited to the exiled nawab Wajid Ali Shah?

A) Pumpkin

B) Turnip

C) Carrot

D) Potato

Answer · why

D) Potato

Potato goes into the pot with the meat and rice, a twist dated to the 1850s, when Kolkata became a refuge for exiled nawabs.

Q 05/05

Which crisp, hollow snack, dunked in sour tamarind water, do Bengali speakers in Kolkata call phuchka?

A) Panipuri

B) Bhelpuri

C) Dahi vada

D) Sev puri

Answer · why

A) Panipuri

Panipuri goes by phuchka in Bengal, a name that imitates the sound of eating one, and Kolkata vendors traditionally hand over a dry one free at the en...