Dry roast baking soda until lightly charred, about 1~2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool completely.

Combine besan, ajwain, ground cumin, red chili powder, pepper, salt and cooled baking soda in a mixing bowl.

Add 5~6tbsp of oil and mix until a crumbly mixture forms.

Add warm water a liitle at a time to form a thick, sticky dough. I left the dough aside for a few minutes, so it is a little easy to handle. It gets a little less sticky.

Add 1~2tbsp oil to the dough and knead it a couple of times.

Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. Spray the cookie press/ muruku press/ janthikala gottam liberally with cookiung spray.

Place 2~3tbsp of dough in the cookie press and press it directly into the hot oil. Fry on medium flame until the gathiyas are golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip and fry for another 1~2 minutes.

Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil.