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50 free Ethiopian Food trivia questions with answers — food & drink quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Ethiopian food is built on a single giant pancake. Injera, the sour teff flatbread, doubles as plate and cutlery, torn with the right hand to scoop up wats, stews that all begin with a mountain of red onion and most of which glow with berbere. Because the Orthodox Church prescribes fasts on every Wednesday and Friday and for all of Lent, a huge share of the repertoire is naturally vegan. These 50 questions cover the staples and the spice cupboard: teff and why white teff costs more, ersho starter and fermentation times, berbere versus mitmita, niter kibbeh, doro wat as national dish, tibs, kinche and the salads. Then the regional dishes: Gurage kitfo and gored gored, ayibe cheese, gomen kitfo for Meskel, enset and kocho, Sidama wassa and borasaame, breakfast fatira, genfo and ful. And the drinks: tej and tella, areki, Ambo water, the jebena, three rounds of coffee with salt or butter, and boiled coffee leaves in the south. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a food-and-drink quiz round.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Injera is traditionally made from the flour of which grain?
Teff
The tiny-seeded grass is native to the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands.
Q 02Roughly how wide is a traditional injera?
50 cm
Diners tear off pieces to scoop up stews, using the right hand.
Q 03With which hand do Ethiopians traditionally eat?
Right
Pieces of injera are used to pick up bites of stew and side dishes.
Q 04What is the general name for the thick stews served on injera?
Wat
They begin with a large quantity of chopped red onion simmered in a pot.
Q 05Which church's fasting rules explain why so many of the country's dishes are vegan?
Orthodox Tewahedo
Animal products, including dairy and eggs, are banned during fasts.
Q 06On which two weekdays do Orthodox Ethiopians fast every week?
Wednesday and Friday
Lent adds a whole season, plus fifteen days outside Lent proper.
Q 07What is the name of the woven basket table on which a meal is traditionally served?
Mesob
Injera is also stored in it.
Q 08Kocho is a bread-like food made from which plant?
False banana (enset)
The plant is pulverised and fermented; the root powder makes a hot drink called bulla.
Q 09Quanta is an Ethiopian version of what?
Beef jerky
It is eaten as a snack or dropped into stews.
Q 10Pasta is widespread in Ethiopia partly because of a brief occupation by which country?
Italy
It is common even in rural areas.
Q 11What is considered the national dish of Ethiopia?
Doro wat
The spicy chicken stew comes with boiled eggs and is built on berbere.
Q 12Which spice blend of chilli, cardamom, fenugreek and cloves underpins most red stews?
Berbere
Using turmeric instead produces the milder alicha wat.
Q 13What is niter kibbeh?
Spiced clarified butter
It is infused with ginger, garlic and spices, and swapped for oil in vegan dishes.
Q 14Mitmita is an orange-red seasoning based on which chilli?
Q 21Azifa is a cold salad based on what?
Lentils
Mustard seed, jalapeños and onion give it its bite; buticha is the chickpea cousin.
Q 22Buticha, a cold chickpea salad, is sometimes compared to what?
Hummus
Timatim, a tomato salad, is another common side.
Q 23What is fir-fir?
Shredded injera mixed with stew
It is a hearty breakfast, also called fit-fit.
Q 24Difo dabo is bread baked wrapped in what?
Birdseye (piri-piri)
Cardamom, cloves and salt go in too; it is the classic kitfo seasoning.
Q 15Which spice replaces the hot blend to make a mild alicha wat?
Turmeric
Both spices are omitted for plain vegetable atkilt wat.
Q 16What is the first step in making any wat?
Simmering lots of chopped red onion
Only once the onions soften is butter or oil added, then the spice.
Q 17What does the word "doro" mean in doro wat?
Chicken
Siga is beef, asa is fish and beg is goat or lamb.
Q 18What is tibs?
Sautéed meat with vegetables
An 18th-century visitor said it was served to pay someone a particular compliment.
Q 19Which 18th-century European described tibs as a dish served to show special respect?
Remedius Prutky
It is still prepared for holidays and special events.
Q 20Kinche is a cheap, common porridge made from what?
Cracked wheat, oats or barley
It is finished with spiced butter and fried onions, or eaten plain.
False banana leaves
Ambasha dabo is the slightly sweet celebration bread with decorative marks.
Q 25What is kolo?
Roasted barley or wheat with peanuts
Street vendors sell it in paper cones; it is also served with coffee.
Q 26What is tej?
A honey wine
It is brewed with gesho and gets stronger the longer it is stored.
Q 27Tella is a home-brewed beer made with barley and which plant?
Gesho
It is served in dedicated tella bet houses and at holidays.
Q 28Areki, also called katikala, is what?
A home-distilled spirit
It is often filtered through charcoal or flavoured with garlic.
Q 29Kitfo consists of what?
Raw minced beef in spiced butter
Gored gored is the cubed-beef version of the same idea.
Q 30How does gored gored differ from kitfo?
It uses cubed rather than minced beef
Both are typically Gurage dishes.