[edit] Steps

Place one cup of wheat flour in a mixing bowl.
Add half-teaspoon of salt and (optionally) a quarter teaspoon of chili powder, and mix thoroughly.
Add one tablespoon of heated cooking oil
Mix lightly with your clean fingers until flakes appear.
Measure carefully just under one cup of lukewarm water.
Add half of that quantity and knead thoroughly with your fingers.
Add half of the remaining quantity and knead thoroughly with your fingers.
Add water in increasingly reduced quantities so that the dough is not over watered. (Tip: The dough should peel off the hand without sticking to it.)
Place a moistened cloth or paper towel over the mixing bowl and set aside for an hour.
After the hour is up, heat up a non-stick pan or the traditional iron tava.
Using a marble slab or chapathi block, spread out some wheat flour with your fingers to prevent sticking. Powder the rolling pin as well.
Keep a quarter cup of flour ready in a shallow bowl.
Make even balls of the same size (2" diameter) and set aside.
Take one ball, flatten it in the bowl containing the flour on one side, flip it over and flatten it again.
Place the 'powdered' dough on the slab/block and with a powdered rolling pin.
Roll out the dough on all sides evenly, adding flour as needed. Do not make it too thin, or else it will develop holes or stick.
Peel the flattened dough off the slab and place on the hot pan/tava.
Observe the color on the upside turn from 'wet' to 'dry', before turning over the chapati and letting it cook on the other side.
Add a little oil on both sides and start anew with the next ball of dough.