Food & Drink
Curry Around the World Quiz
From tikka masala to katsu — curry conquered the planet in a thousand ways.
From tikka masala to katsu — curry conquered the planet in a thousand ways.
The average Japanese person eats curry rice 73 times per year — making it one of Japan's most consumed dishes despite originating in South Asia. From the coconut-rich pastes of Thailand to the gravy-drenched katsu plates of Tokyo and the fiery goat curries of Jamaica, this humble dish has traveled farther and adapted more wildly than almost any other food on Earth. This 50-question quiz takes you on a global tour of curry culture, spice science, and culinary history.
Each round serves up 10 multiple-choice questions randomly selected from the pool. Pick the correct answer for each question, then get instant feedback with fascinating context about regional curry traditions, spice blends, and surprising origin stories. No account or timer -- just test your knowledge of the world's curries.
Questions cover Indian curries from butter chicken to sambar, Thai paste-based curries and their heat levels, Japan's surprisingly British-influenced curry culture, Caribbean and Southeast Asian variations, the science behind key spices like turmeric and capsaicin, and the ancient origins of curry stretching back 4,500 years to the Indus Valley civilization.
The word "curry" derives from the Tamil word "kari," meaning sauce or gravy. Curry-like spiced dishes originated in the Indian subcontinent, with archaeological evidence of curry residues found on pottery from the Indus Valley civilization dating back roughly 4,500 years. From there, trade routes, colonialism, and migration carried curry traditions across Southeast Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean, Japan, and Britain.
Indian curries typically use dry ground spice blends (like garam masala) with bases of yogurt, cream, tomato, or onion. Thai curries are built from fresh wet pastes made with ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves, cooked in coconut milk with fish sauce and palm sugar. Indian curries tend to be richer and slower-cooked, while Thai curries are often lighter and more aromatic with herbal brightness.
The origin of chicken tikka masala is hotly debated. A popular story credits a chef in Glasgow (or Birmingham) who in the 1970s added a tomato-cream sauce to dry chicken tikka to satisfy a customer who wanted gravy. However, similar sauced dishes exist in Punjabi cuisine. In 2001, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook famously declared it "a true British national dish," but many Indian chefs dispute the claim.
Last updated: April 2026