1. Heat oil for frying.In a bowl take the rice flour and add all the ingredients except oil and combine.Add 1 tablespoon oil and mix.

2. Add water little by litte until it forms a firm dough.Do not knead.

3. Take a cherry tomato sized flour and roll into a ball.

4. Press it onto a greased ziplock bag and press down into a thin pancake with your fingers tapping it gently all around.Gently flip the pancake onto your hand from the ziplock.

5. Gently drop it into the oil and fry on medium high heat until golden brown and remove onto a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.Repeat for all the dough.Do not add more than 1 cup water your chekkalu won't be crispy and won't hold shape to drop them into oil. You can also add sesame seeds,ajwain etc to the dough.Do not overheat your oil or the inside of the chekkalu won't get cooked through.Press your pancake very thin until the chana dal surfaces it makes them cook faster and gives them crispy texture.Store in an airtight container for upto a month.