80 Middle Eastern Cuisine Trivia Questions with Answers

80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?

Hard Hard difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Moroccan fermented butter traditionally flavored with herbs called?

Answer

Smen

Hard Hard difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Yemeni cuisine, what is the hot green chili and herb sauce called?

Answer

Zhug

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Yemeni fenugreek-based foam served with saltah called?

Answer

Hilbah

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Persian stew of herbs, kidney beans, dried limes, and meat called?

Answer

Ghormeh sabzi

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which Palestinian dish combines roasted chicken, onions, sumac, and flatbread?

Answer

Musakhan

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Iraqi fish dish traditionally made by splitting and grilling a large carp called?

Answer

Masgouf

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Moroccan soup traditionally served to break the Ramadan fast called?

Answer

Harira

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the Lebanese salad made with toasted pita, parsley, tomatoes, and sumac called?

Answer

Fattoush

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which Egyptian dish combines rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, and tomato sauce?

Answer

Koshari

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the traditional Turkish confection made from starch and sugar called?

Answer

Lokum

Hard Hard difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Egyptian cuisine, what is the green, garlicky soup made primarily from jute leaves called?

Answer

Molokhia

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the traditional Persian dried lime, widely used to sour stews, called?

Answer

Limoo amani

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Persian cuisine, what is the crispy rice crust at the bottom of a pot called?

Answer

Tahdig

Hard Hard difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the name of the Persian herb-and-noodle soup traditionally served at Nowruz?

Answer

Ash reshteh

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which nut is a defining ingredient in the Levantine dip muhammara?

Answer

Walnut

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What is the main grain in the North African and Middle Eastern dish couscous?

Answer

Semolina

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which souring fruit is commonly used in Persian cuisine to flavor fesenjan stew?

Answer

Pomegranate

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Turkish coffee, what fine ingredient is traditionally left unfiltered in the cup?

Answer

Coffee grounds

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What does the name maqluba literally mean for this Levantine rice dish?

Answer

Upside-down

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What cooking method gives shawarma its characteristic flavor in Middle Eastern cuisine?

Answer

Vertical spit roasting

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which Egyptian dish of slowly cooked fava beans is often called Egypt’s national dish?

Answer

Ful medames

Hard Hard difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Levantine cuisine, what is the garlic sauce called that is traditionally emulsified with oil and lemon juice?

Answer

Toum

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

What type of pastry dough is traditionally used to make baklava in Middle Eastern cuisine?

Answer

Phyllo dough

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which spice is a defining ingredient in the Middle Eastern blend called za'atar?

Answer

Sumac

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Saudi cuisine, which dish of spiced rice and meat is often considered the national dish?

Answer

Kabsa

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which country is most closely associated with the origin of harissa, the North African chili paste?

Answer

Tunisia

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Middle Eastern cuisine, what is labneh made by straining?

Answer

Yogurt

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

Which country recognizes mansaf, a lamb-and-rice dish, as its national dish?

Answer

Jordan

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Middle Eastern cuisine, what herb is the main ingredient in traditional tabbouleh?

Answer

Parsley

Easy Easy difficulty.
Middle Eastern Cuisine

In Middle Eastern cuisine, which legume is traditionally blended into hummus?

Answer

Chickpeas