Teman perempuan saya bilang bahwa resep ini kelihatan rumit, padahal langkah-langkahnya cukup sederhana kalau diikuti pelan-pelan.

In Indonesian, the basic order is usually:

• noun + modifier

So:

• teman perempuan = female friend
• teman saya = my friend
• teman perempuan saya = my female friend

By contrast, perempuan teman saya would sound like the woman who is my friend or just unnatural in this context.

A useful comparison:

• teman laki-laki = male friend / boyfriend in some contexts
• teman perempuan = female friend

If someone wanted to be extra clear that this is not a romantic partner, teman perempuan works well.

Because possession in Indonesian normally comes after the noun:

• buku saya = my book
• rumah saya = my house
• teman perempuan saya = my female friend

So Indonesian says something closer to friend female my rather than my female friend in English word order.

bilang means to say / tell in an informal, very common way.

• Teman perempuan saya bilang ... = My female friend said ...

bahwa introduces a reported clause, similar to that in English:

• bilang bahwa resep ini kelihatan rumit
  = said that this recipe looks complicated

But bahwa is often optional in everyday Indonesian. You could also say:

• Teman perempuan saya bilang resep ini kelihatan rumit

That sounds natural too.

A small nuance:

• bahwa sounds a bit more explicit or slightly more formal
• leaving it out sounds very natural in speech

Sometimes yes, but it changes the feel a little.

• bilang bahwa ... = said that ...
• bilang kalau ... = also often used for said that ... in casual speech

So this would also be common:

• Teman perempuan saya bilang kalau resep ini kelihatan rumit

In many everyday contexts, kalau and bahwa can both introduce reported speech. However:

• bahwa is more standard/formal for that
• kalau is more conversational and can also mean if/when

So bahwa avoids ambiguity a bit more.

Both can mean looks / appears / is visible.

In this sentence:

• resep ini kelihatan rumit = this recipe looks complicated

Nuance:

• kelihatan is very common and conversational
• terlihat is a bit more formal or neutral in writing

Examples:

• Dia kelihatan lelah. = He/She looks tired.
• Dia terlihat lelah. = He/She looks tired.

Both are fine, but kelihatan sounds especially natural in everyday speech.

Not exactly.

• rumit = complicated / complex
• sulit = difficult / hard

So:

• resep ini kelihatan rumit means the recipe looks complicated
• it does not necessarily mean it is actually hard to do

That contrast matters here, because the sentence then says the steps are actually fairly simple.

padahal introduces a contrast, often with a sense like:

• even though
• whereas
• when actually
• in fact

In this sentence:

• Teman perempuan saya bilang bahwa resep ini kelihatan rumit, padahal langkah-langkahnya cukup sederhana ...

This means something like:

• My female friend said this recipe looks complicated, but actually the steps are quite simple ...

So padahal is stronger and more specific than just tetapi. It often suggests that the first idea is misleading or contrary to the real situation.

This is reduplication, which often marks plurality in Indonesian.

• langkah = step
• langkah-langkah = steps

So:

• langkah-langkahnya = the steps / its steps

Could you say langkahnya? Sometimes yes, depending on context. But langkah-langkahnya makes the plural idea clearer and sounds very natural when talking about recipe instructions.

-nya has several uses in Indonesian. Here it makes the noun sound definite and can also mean its.

So:

• langkah-langkahnya can be understood as the steps or its steps

In this sentence, it refers back to resep ini:

• langkah-langkahnya = the steps of this recipe

This is very common in Indonesian. Instead of repeating the noun, speakers often use -nya to refer back to something already mentioned.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

• cukup = enough / sufficiently / quite
• sederhana = simple

So cukup sederhana can mean:

• quite simple
• fairly simple
• simple enough

In this sentence, fairly simple or quite simple is probably the best natural translation.

This is a very common Indonesian pattern using the passive.

• diikuti = followed
• kalau diikuti pelan-pelan = if/when followed slowly

Indonesian often leaves the agent unstated when it is general or obvious. So the meaning is:

• if you follow them slowly
• if one follows them slowly
• if they are followed step by step, slowly

English usually wants a subject like you, but Indonesian does not need one here.

Because Indonesian often uses passive to describe general instructions or procedures.

Compare:

• kalau diikuti pelan-pelan = if followed slowly
• kalau kita mengikuti langkah-langkahnya pelan-pelan = if we follow the steps slowly
• kalau Anda mengikuti langkah-langkahnya pelan-pelan = if you follow the steps slowly

The passive version is shorter and more natural in this kind of explanatory statement. It keeps the focus on the steps, not on who is following them.

pelan means slow or soft/quiet, depending on context.

Reduplication here makes it function naturally as an adverb:

• pelan-pelan = slowly
• also often gently in other contexts

So:

• diikuti pelan-pelan = followed slowly

This is a very common expression in Indonesian. You will hear it a lot in speech.

Examples:

• Jalan pelan-pelan. = Walk slowly.
• Bicara pelan-pelan. = Speak slowly/softly.

Because demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun in Indonesian.

• resep ini = this recipe
• buku itu = that book

So Indonesian word order is:

• noun + ini/itu

not:

• this + noun

Yes. kalau is flexible.

In this sentence:

• kalau diikuti pelan-pelan

it can be understood as:

• if followed slowly
• when followed slowly

English might choose if because it sounds more natural in this kind of explanation, but the idea is really: in the case that you follow the steps slowly, they are simple.

Yes, very common. It follows a natural spoken/written pattern:

1. Teman perempuan saya bilang bahwa ...
   = someone said/thought something

2. ..., padahal ...
   = but actually / whereas in reality

3. ..., kalau diikuti pelan-pelan.
   = condition explaining why the contrast is true

So the sentence moves like this:

• appearance/opinion: the recipe looks complicated
• reality: the steps are fairly simple
• condition/explanation: as long as you follow them slowly

That kind of contrastive structure is extremely typical in Indonesian.