Cooking pasta seems easy until you cook and end up with a meal you don’t even want to eat. Making pasta is more than just dipping them in water and letting them boil until they are soft. Really, if you want your pasta to be perfect or at least close to perfect, you must put in some effort.

When it comes to making pasta, most people make these mistakes which ruin the meal:

1. Too small a pot

Thought the sufuria doesn’t really matter? Well, you should have known better. Pasta needs enough space to cook and using a small sufuria makes them stick together.

2. Not adding enough water

Just like it needs a big pot, the water too needs to be enough. Pasta should be covered so that it can cook evenly. You can always drain the excess water once it’s ready.

3. Not stirring the pasta

Your grandmother told you that you should never stir rice lest it becomes sticky? Don’t try this with pasta. If you just toss them in water and leave them to boil, they will stick to each other. As soon as you put them in water, stir a little bit. And keep on stirring after every few minutes.

4. Adding pasta too early

A little patience, please. I know we at times add rice to cold water and just let it boil. This though does not work with pasta. Pasta has to be cooked in boiling water so that it does not become gummy.

5. Following the instructions to the letter

The instructions on the package are not always 100% accurate. If you follow them, you may end up with uncooked or overcooked pasta. The best way to know if pasta is ready is to taste it.