Chappati is a delicious, very plain, unleavened bread that is a standard ingredient of a typical meal in urban Maharashtra. If you are a cook who loves to make sacrifices for your family and guests you can make a steady stream of chappaties for others to eat, or you can prepare them beforehand and keep them warm in an oven wrapped in a towel.

Making The Dough: Combine salt and flour and heap this mixture in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add oil. Work flour and oil together, as for pastry dough, and then add two cups water. Mix and knead the dough, aiming for an homogeneous mass. Add more water (about 1 up), a little at a time, kneading to absorb the moisture until the dough is soft but not sticky. It is the right consistency if, when poked with the index finger, a little indentation is made but the dough does not stick to the finger.

Rolling The Chappati: Pinch off enough dough to make a ball 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Flatten the ball and dip into white flour. Lightly flour a surface for rolling out the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the ball into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Smear lightly with oil and fold in half. Smear with oil again and fold into a quarter. Round off corners of the triangle by squeezing in.

Flour the rolling surface and formed chappati again and roll it out into as round a shape as possible. The objective is to end up with a flat circle of dough that looks like a Mexican tortilla, 8-9 inches in diameter. The edges of the chappati must be fairly thin. Ue the rolling pin with a circular motion, exerting more pressure on the edge so that the chappati keeps turning with each roll. White flour must be occasionally sprinkled on the dough and the board to allow the chappati to turn.

Cooking The Chappati: Heat a thick, cast-iron griddle ( a pancake griddle or a large frying pan will do) on high heat, then turn down to medium. Spread the rolled out chappati onto the grill. It's color will change to a slightly darker shade within 30 seconds. Slide the chappati to the edge of the grill with your fingertips (this is a skilled task and requires asbestos fingers), pick it up and turn it over. Let it cook another 30 seconds or so, until small blisters or bubbles appear on the surface. Turn it over again. If everything is going well the chappati should (miraculously) start to inflate like a small balloon. This process can be encouraged by gently pressing down on the chappati at various points with a cloth towel. All is not lost if the chappati does not inflate in this fashion; it is still quite edible as long as it is evenly cooked. Any spots that look a bit raw can be cooked by pressing them against the hot griddle with the towel. Turn the chappati over and cook for a final moment.

Take the chappati off the grill and crush it to remove the air. It may hurt to destroy the spherical shape, but if the chappati is left blown up, it tends to become hard and tough. Squashing the air out maintains it in a soft and flexible condition for eating.

Chappaties are usually spread with ghee (substitute margarine or oil) and eaten warm, often with a vegetable dal and a salad, chutney, or pickles. Leftover chappaties are good for lunches. Make a sandwich by rolling one around spiced vegetables. Refrigerate any unused dough. It stores quite well for a few days and is handy to have in reserve for other meals. Lightly oil the leftover dough and store in a plastic bag or airtight container.