What the fuck how is cooking so fucking hard I follow the instructions

Also

>Salt to taste

WHAT THE FUCK WHY WOULD I BE READING A RECIPE IF I ALREADY KNEW HOW MUCH TO ADD IN

FUCK

indian cooking aint easy mane.

Are you using a thin pot not a dutch oven? That will transfer heat too quickly and burn stuff.

Also sounds like you should add some cocounut milk, tin tomatoes or stock to your curry whatever before stuff burns, so you can leave it on low heat until your veges are cooked.

This is just the beginning. Even when cooking "easy" american/italian/mexican/whatever recipes I still manage to fuck up, taking at least 3x longer than I should be taking even though i'm constantly doing things

>If you keep cutting vegetables you'll eventually become good,s

I've watched countless youtube videos on how to cut onions or mince garlic and every time, even if I go super slowly it just ends up separating and making a giant mess and it takes forever to cut the direction

>>8106727
I usually use a wok, it's all I have + a frying pan and a dosa pan

So when I add oil and mustard seeds to begin with, I should add coconut milk? I don't get how they won't eventually get burned if they're on the flame longer than everything else

>>8106719

You need to pay attention to what is happening in real time, in your kitchen. Not what anything in a book says. PAY ATTENTION.

You need either oil or water to convey heat to cook a potato. Which are you using? Or bake the fuckers. What's the problem? And spices toast in no time, another couple of seconds and they burn.

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Does anyone else get filled with rage when they mess up a step in their cooking?

One time I tried to make stew, I fucked it up so bad I dumped the whole pot into the garbage

To some degree, it takes talent. More so however it takes patience. Even more so it takes experience.

You don't become good at this overnight. I sort of did because I dived right into it. Letting my failures fuel my motivation for success.

Trouble is, I started before I was even a teenager. I knew exact timing for a lot of things. Temperature control, movement, all that shit. It shouldn't surprise you that you're having trouble.

There are some really easy meals that I'm guessing you would fuck up because you get frustrated too easily.

>>8106734
By the time I added the potatoes the onions and spices had already taken up all the oil, there wasn't any left

Am I supposed to add more?

But like what am I supposed to do? Today I noticed that the dal was getting a bit darker than I'd like. Turn the heat down? But then the rest won't get cooked. Even if I add in everything else immediately, (which is what I did) it'll still get burned just because it's going to keep being on the flame

>>8106751
I just feel like I'm not improving at all. I've done the "fry vegetables with mustard seeds/cumin/spices" 25 times, today was as mediocre as the second or third time. I don't understand how to improve if I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong

Fuck man I really do like cooking, when I occasionally make something that resembles what my parents make it makes me so happy and proud

But now I'm just sitting in my room crying eating a peanut butter sandwich because its the only thing i can make with any sort of consistency

>>8106756

You're largest mistake was going by recipes and directions. There's "feel" to cooking that you have to learn. Books and recipes do not do it justice. There's a smell and a look when something is ready for the next step. You have to learn that and sometimes, you eat your mistakes.

>>8106719
Walk us through it, OP, walk us through it.
I can help you, but I can't discern all the problems through your rage.

>>8106728
That sounds like your knife isn't sharp enough. When my knives get dull and need sharpening, the first indication I have is my onions start sliding around while I cut. THAT is your problem.

>>8106732
When you add water to a pan, the maximum temperature of the stuff in the pan will be reduced to the boiling temperature of water until the water boils off, which is coincidentally lower than it takes to burn anything. Also try making something else rather failing at the same recipe however many times. Find something that teaches you fundamentals in some way.

I'm new to kitchens and our chef said the other day when I asked him why he put a load of olive oil, then zander filets and halfway through the frying process fucking half a knob of butter, "nobody goes to restaurant s to eat healthy kid"

So basically add butter to anything

>>8106800
Sure, that's the classical french way. A good chef should be able to make nice food without the crutch of fat though

>>8106769
http://vegrecipesofkarnataka.com/64-aloogadde-alugadde-palya-potato-bhaji.php
all right so I cut everything beforehand and had everything ready

Boiled potatoes and peeled them, fork could slide through the middle.

I add oil, 6/10 heat, wait a bit to heat up, then add mustard s deeds. When they crackle I added cumin and dal. Soon the dal turned brown, so I added green chili ginger and a few curry leaves. Already here the dal was starting to get dangerously dark. I didn't know whether to lower or increase the heat so I just left it and added the turmeric, hing, and onions immediately, thinking most of the heat would go toward the onions. Onions cooked fine, added potatoes. By this time the mustard seeds and dal were just completely burned and unedible. whatever, I just waited for potatoes to cook and become soft. But they never did. There was no oil left. I waited at least 20 minutes, still at 6/10 heat, when I tried eating a few pieces, they were still hard.

Was I supposed to add more oil? Boil potatoes for longer? Change the heat? I never know when to increase or lower the heat. And how do I make the mustard seeds not burn?

Finally it looked roughly how it should look, but it was just completely flavorless despite how many spices I added. I even tried adding red chilli powder but It didn't do anything. I'm so baffled

>>8106782
So today I was making http://vegrecipesofkarnataka.com/64-aloogadde-alugadde-palya-potato-bhaji.php, what the OP refers to. I don't really ever add water, just onions and potatoes. so what then?

I can make rasam decently. I tried making chapati and it was so bad I just threw it away. Think the dough was too thick since I didn't have a rolling pin.Made dosas a while ago, took like 7 tries but the last one turned out all right. Do you have any recommendations for basic things?

I definitely do not understand the basics yet, and I agree that it's hurting me (for example I didn't know that thing about water you said)

>>8106728
Recipes give you a general idea of the method behind cooking. Why not read some, simplify them, and go from there?

>>8106840
> http://vegrecipesofkarnataka.com/64-aloogadde-alugadde-palya-potato-bhaji.php
He precooks and mashes the potatoes before adding them to the spices. That may be your main problem. This recipe also requires timing, so if you don't, prepare your ingredients beforehand and keep them close to you so you can add them quickly. Your main issue seems to be with timing, so lower the heat a bit and take it easy. Fry the spices and just keep stirring and adding them until the onions and then the potato.

>>8106856
Yeah I think I should've added things sooner.

So do you think I should have boiled the potatoes for longer? I did mash them using a masher my roommate had, and it flattened pretty easily.

Heat management. If shit is burning lower the heat. Also, just because someone else says set the heat to 6/10 or medium or simmer or some other shit...that doesnt mean your stove is exactly like theirs.

>>8106878
You've been complaining about the potatoes being undercooked and yet they're mashable before going in the pot. How is this possible? Just stir the mash into the onion/spice.

>>8106886
I don't really get it either. I guess what I meant to say is that there were several large chunks of the potato that didn't mash through/didn't get cooked.

>>8106889
Cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks before boiling them, and then test the biggest chunk for doneness before mashing them. When cooking something, cut all of a certain ingredient into even pieces.

>>8106896
huh all right. ok for next time I will try

-lowering heat
-adding things sooner
-cutting up potatoes if applicable

can you comment on
>Finally it looked roughly how it should look, but it was just completely flavorless despite how many spices I added. I even tried adding red chilli powder but It didn't do anything. I'm so baffled
?

>>8106913
Did you measure out the ingredients? Measure out all of them to make sure that there's enough spice for the potatoes. Also, cooking them properly should yield results.

>>8106915
Yes I used a measuring spoon for everything but the salt since it didn't specify, I used 1 tsp salt.

By cooking properly do you mean with lower heat?

how about you just concentrate on pooing in the loo and try some easier cuisine until you can find a female slave to do this shit for you

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>cooking at a restaurant
>putting in work and doing everything subconciously
>cooking at my home
>stressed the fuck out, angry and can't make anything

>>8106922
Yes, don't burn the spices.

>>8106928
All right thanks for the help anon. Hopefully next time goes better.

>>8106936
Report back tomorrow ITT if it's alive. Otherwise, make a new thread. I'm anticipating your results.

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>>8106840
>http://vegrecipesofkarnataka.com/64-aloogadde-alugadde-palya-potato-bhaji.php

>measuring cup used = 120ml

Why is this even worth mentioning?

>2 medium sized potato
>2 medium sized onion

Why aren't these properly measured by weight? The fuck are "medium sized" potatoes and onions?

Go find a metric recipe.

use vahchef my nig

https://www.youtube.com/user/vahchef

>>8106734
This.

You're using different equipment in a different environment to them, so you need to make allowances for differences like temperature, timing etc. Follow the instructions as closely as possible, but if you're burning it in the process then either you're doing them wrong or they're meant for a different setup than what you have

>>8106763
>You're largest mistake was going by recipes and directions.

Ck in all its glory. ..

On a serious note, don't listen to this idiot

At least youre already at the spices level. I'm still at hotdogs, and my hotdogs are all wrinkly.

>>8106840
>I didn't know whether to lower or increase the heat so I just left it and added the turmeric, hing, and onions immediately, thinking most of the heat would go toward the onions.
What the fuck.

>>8106751
not burning spices doesn't take any talent at all

I mean, I totally understand that there's a talent in cooking, but making edible, or even fairly tasty food requires none at all

I've worked with people who struggled to pick up cooking, and I've read all of your posts. It sound to me like you're just retarded, not that there's anything about cooking in particular which eludes you.

What other aspects of life do you struggle with, out of curiosity?

>>8106720

>add a little salt
>taste your food
>add more if taste is unsatisfactory

how is this hard?

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>>8107455
/thread

>>8106719
Don't give up. "Art without practice and practice without art, are nothing."

>>8107254
He has a point. Even with recipes you have to have a lot of common sense on the stove top to successfully make a dish.

Sounds like op is a fucking idiot. Don't stop though. You'll get it eventually.

>>8106719
>How do my mustard seeds get burned every single time?
You already said you saw them burning and didn't bother to turn down the heat. You seem to be recognising your mistakes but repeating them because you don't believe the recipe or your equipment could be imperfect.