If you really want to be health-conscious, you can skip the ghee, but the chapatis won’t be as tasty. If you can’t find any ghee, you can substitute olive oil. It won’t be quite as authentic, but it should do the trick. Though these are the only ingredients you need to make a traditional chapati, you can add a teaspoon or so of your favorite spice, such as chili powder, if you want to make an addition to this simple recipe.
Optionally, when this time has passed, you can moisten your hands with a bit of oil or ghee and knead the dough for another five minutes. It should feel both smooth and supple when you’re done.
As you see the chapati filling up with air, you can lightly press down on these spots to encourage the air to pass through the entire chapati. This puffiness will make the chapati nice and soft. Once the chapati has fully puffed up, you can take it off the stove. Some people will say that, once you start cooking the second side of the chapati, you should cook it directly over the fire of your stove, using tongs to flip it over. If you do this, make sure your stove is very sterilized and that you take extreme care.
