first heat the ghee or oil. take the hot ghee or oil and maida, whole wheat flour, all the spices, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl 准备一个大碗，首先加热油，再加入粉类，香料，盐和泡打粉。
mix everything well and rub the fat evenly in the flour with your fingertips. the whole mixture should resemble breadcrumbs. the more you do this, the more better texture the mathris will have. 用手全部混合好，继续揉，应该看上去像粗面包屑。
you will see the mixture can be gathered together like shown in the pic below. 看上去应该如图所示。
just add 1 or 2 tbsp of water each time and only mix the dough. don't knead like a roti or poori dough. only mix the water in the dough. i used 6 tbsp water and this amount was enough to bind all the dough together and gather into one ball. if the dough is kneaded than the flaky texture is lost. cover the dough and keep aside for 30 mins. 先分次加入1-2大勺水到面团里，我总共用了6大勺。直到面团能抱团为止，不能出现软塌，盖保鲜膜静置30分钟。
heat oil for frying in a kadai or pan. pinch small balls from the dough. just roll them lightly in your palms to even them. no need to give them a proper round shape etc. 在锅里放入油，把面团揪成小团，在手掌上稍微撮一下，随意点，不需要撮圆。
flatten each ball with a rolling pin or belan to medium thickness. prick each mathri with a fork. the jagged uneven edges are alright and this is how they are meant to be. in case you want a smooth finish, then use a biscuit or cookie cutter. roll a large piece of dough and cut with a cookie cutter. 用擀面杖压平，用叉子在上面叉几下，mathri的边缘就是这样散开的，但你也可以用饼干模具进行整形，压形状或揉成一个长条后切片。
fry about 4-6 mathris is medium hot oil till crisp and golden...tips mentioned on the hotness of oil in the recipe details below. 油温中热的时候放入4-6块炸至金色，详细请见文末贴士。
drain the mathris on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil. fry the mathris in batches. when cooled then store mathri in an air tight box. the shelf life for mathri is long. i think its more than few weeks. i can not tell you how many weeks or months the mathri stays well because it does not last that long in our house. for baking method, please check the recipe note at the bottom of post. 炸好后捞出放在厨房纸巾上吸干多余油，全部炸好后，彻底晾凉后密封保存。我想大约能保存几周，尽快食用完。 烘烤版请见文末贴士。
serve punjabi mathri with tea or as a snack. 可做茶点或零食。
*black pepper - crushed coarsely or kept whole if you prefer. *baking soda optional for frying but do add if baking the mathris. frying method: 1.check the hotness of oil before frying the mathris. 2.drop a small piece and if comes to the surface gradually, then the oil is ready. 3.if it comes to quickly, then the oil is very hot and the mathris will brown from out but remain uncooked from inside and will become soft. 4.if it comes slowly, then the oil is cold. result would be the mathris would absorb a lot of oil and become dense due to over frying. 5.fry the mathri is medium hot oil till crisp and golden. 6.regulate the flame between low to medium if required. 7.drain on kitchen paper towels and when cooled store them in an air tight box. 8.prepare and fry the mathris in batches. 9.serve these flaky spiced punjabi mathris with ginger tea or masala tea as an evening snack. baking method: 1.preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. 2.prepare the circular mathris as mentioned above. 3.place in a pan or tray and bake for 20-30 mins or till light golden. 4.after 10-12 minutes, turn over the mathris for even baking and browning. 5.if even after 20-30 mins the mathris are not baked, then bake for some more minutes. 6.please keep an eye on the baking as oven temperatures differ in various models and brands. 7.remove and cool on a wire rack. 8.once cooled, store the baked mathris in an air tight container. Notes: 1.you can increase or decrease the spices as per your taste buds. 2.if you plan to bake the whole dough, then consider adding 1 to 2 tbsp more oil or ghee in the flours.