I've been making chapattis for years, usually use ordinary wholemeal flour because we don't often have chapatti flour in although chapatti flour is probably better.
You need a gas cooker or burner, an old frying pan (preferably NOT non-stick), and an 'implement' (see below). If you have all electric, get a single burner butane stove from a camping shop.
The dough should be simply flour and water, oil is optional, and fairly dry. Much drier than the consistency of the dough for making ordinary bread. After kneading (not too much) it should be really firm with no hint of stickiness. Sorry I can't think how to describe the feel of the dough in words.
I usually add a spoonful of oil into the dough to make it a bit moister, but you can do without.
Let the dough rest for an hour or so after kneading.
Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and roll out with a rolling pin until quite thin and the size of the frying pan. Keep dusting the sides with more flour to avoid sticking. If youre not going to cook the chapatis straightaway, stack them up between layers of kitchen paper and cover the stack with clingfilm to keep moist.
heat the frying pan really hot but dry, put in a chapatti but turn it after only ten or fifteen seconds, when you can feel the dough beginnng to bubble up under your fingers, then another ten or fifteen seconds on the other side.
Transfer the chapatti to your implement and wave it around horizontally over the gas flame turning over several times until it puffs up all over. Mind your fingers! Serve at once.
Good luck.
