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Level 1 — Foundations
Art of Cooking · Level 1 — Foundations

Level 1 — Foundations
Where every Indian cook starts

The 10 techniques that unlock 80% of Indian cooking. Heat control, spices, tadka, rice, dal, basic vegetables. No prior experience needed.

10 techniques in this level

Master these techniques and unlock hundreds of recipes

Each technique page includes the full method, science explanation, dietary variants for all five categories, common mistakes, and links to recipes that use the technique.

Dietary notes on every technique
Every technique works for every diet
Each technique page includes specific notes for Vegetarian, Vegan, Jain, and Sattvic cooking. The technique itself is identical — only specific ingredients change.
🥬 Vegetarian 🥩 Non-Vegetarian 🌱 Vegan 🟡 Jain 🔴 Sattvic
Every technique connects to
Science Academy
The chemistry behind every technique in this level
Failure Clinic
When these techniques go wrong — and how to fix it
Recipes
Every recipe that uses techniques from this level
Food Atlas
Where these techniques originated regionally
Common Questions
How many techniques are in Level 1 — Foundations?
Level 1 — Foundations has 10 technique pages, each covering one specific skill with full method, science explanation, and dietary variants.
Do I need to read all techniques before cooking?
No — pick the technique relevant to what you want to cook. The list is structured so earlier techniques build on each other, but you can start anywhere.
How long does each technique take to learn?
10-15 minutes to read the page. 2-3 cooking sessions to genuinely master it. The science explanation ensures you understand what you're doing, which makes mastery faster.
Are dietary variants significantly different?
Usually just one or two substitutions — hing instead of garlic for Jain/Sattvic, coconut cream instead of dairy for vegan. The technique itself is identical.
What if my technique goes wrong?
Each technique page links directly to the relevant Failure Clinic articles. Every common failure for that technique is covered with a science explanation and exact fix.
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