Kiedy mam mało czasu, robię szybki sos do makaronu i kroję ogórek do sałatki.

Here kiedy means when, but in a sentence like this it often has a broader sense close to whenever.

So:

• Kiedy mam mało czasu... = When I have little time... / Whenever I don’t have much time...

In everyday Polish, this kind of present-tense sentence often describes a repeated situation, not just one specific occasion.

Because mało means little / not much as a quantity, while mały means small as an adjective.

• mało czasu = little time / not much time
• mały czas would literally mean small time, which is not how Polish expresses this idea

Also, after mało, Polish uses the genitive case, so:

• czas → czasu

That is why you get mam mało czasu.

Because words like mało, dużo, trochę, niewiele usually require the noun after them to be in the genitive.

Examples:

• mało czasu = little time
• dużo pracy = a lot of work
• trochę wody = a little water

So in this sentence:

• mam mało czasu

the verb mam is not what causes the genitive; mało does.

These are 1st person singular present tense forms:

• robię = I do / I make
• kroję = I cut / I slice

Because the sentence describes what the speaker typically does in that situation, Polish uses the present tense, just like English can in sentences such as:

• When I’m short on time, I make... and cut...

These are also imperfective verbs:

• robić → robię
• kroić → kroję

Imperfective is normal here because this is a general, habitual action.

Because szybki describes the noun sos.

• szybki sos = a quick sauce

Here quick means quick to make, not moving fast.

By contrast:

• szybko is an adverb meaning quickly

So:

• robię szybki sos = I make a quick sauce
• robię sos szybko = I make the sauce quickly

Those are related, but not the same structure.

Here do means something like for in English.

• sos do makaronu = sauce for pasta
• ogórek do sałatki = cucumber for a salad

In Polish, do often means to, into, or for, depending on context. After do, the following noun goes into the genitive.

So:

• makaron → makaronu
• sałatka → sałatki

Because the preposition do requires the genitive case.

Base forms:

• makaron = pasta
• sałatka = salad

After do:

• do makaronu
• do sałatki

This is a very common pattern in Polish, so it is worth memorizing:

• do + genitive

Examples:

• do domu = to home
• do pracy = to work
• do obiadu = for lunch / with lunch

Because ogórek is a masculine inanimate noun, and in Polish the accusative singular of masculine inanimate nouns is usually the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: ogórek
• accusative: ogórek

Since kroić takes a direct object (cut what?), ogórek is in the accusative.

Compare this with a masculine animate noun:

• Widzę psa = I see a dog

There the accusative is different from the nominative:

• nominative: pies
• accusative: psa

Because Polish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

• robię already means I make / I am making
• kroję already means I cut / I am cutting

So ja is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Ja robię sos, a on robi sałatkę.
  = I’m making the sauce, and he’s making the salad.

In the original sentence, no emphasis is needed, so the pronoun is omitted.

Because Kiedy mam mało czasu is a subordinate clause, and in Polish subordinate clauses are normally separated by a comma.

So the structure is:

• Kiedy mam mało czasu,
  subordinate clause
• robię szybki sos do makaronu i kroję ogórek do sałatki.
  main clause

Polish uses commas in these structures more consistently than English does.

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show grammatical relationships.

The original sentence is natural and neutral:

• Kiedy mam mało czasu, robię szybki sos do makaronu i kroję ogórek do sałatki.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Kiedy mam mało czasu, szybki sos do makaronu robię i kroję ogórek do sałatki.

That version is grammatical, but it sounds more marked or stylistically unusual. For learners, the original word order is the best one to use.

Yes, robię sos is very natural and common in everyday Polish.

• robię sos = I’m making sauce / I make sauce
• przygotowuję sos = I’m preparing sauce

Przygotowuję sounds a bit more formal or deliberate. In ordinary speech, robię is often preferred because it is simple and idiomatic.

In modern Polish, makaron is the normal everyday word for pasta.

• sos do makaronu = pasta sauce

The word pasta also exists in Polish, but it often means a spread, paste, or a specific mixture, depending on context:

• pasta do zębów = toothpaste
• pasta jajeczna = egg spread

So in this sentence, makaron is exactly the right word.

A few pronunciation notes:

• kiedy → roughly KYE-dy
• robię → roughly RO-byeh, with ę often sounding like e or a nasalized vowel depending on context
• kroję → roughly KRO-yeh
• ogórek → roughly o-GOO-rek
• sałatki → roughly sa-WAT-kee

A few key letter facts:

• ó sounds like u
• rz usually sounds like the zh sound in measure
• ę is a nasal vowel, but in normal speech its pronunciation changes depending on the sounds around it

So even though the spelling may look difficult, the sentence is quite manageable once you know those patterns.