Indian chicken curry- Kadhai Chicken

Photo by Amit Agni

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast, cut in small pieces (You can also use chicken pieces with bone)
2 medium size onions, chopped
1 tomato, paste or puree
1/2tsp cumin powder
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1tsp coriander powder
1tsp coriander seeds
2tbsp red chili paste
1tsp coarsely crushed peppercorn
2-3tbsp oil ( I used a combination of ghee and canola oil)
1 bay leaf
3-4 javitri (Mace)
1 black cardamom
2 green cardamom
4 cloves
1 star anise
1 inch cinnamon stick
6-7 garlic cloves,paste
1 inch ginger,paste
Coriander leaves,chopped
Salt to taste
Water as per requirement
Method:
Wash chicken and pat dry.
Heat oil in a kadhai. Add bay leaf,cardamom,cinnamon,star anise,cloves,javitri,coriander seeds. Fry for 30 secs
Add the chopped onions. Fry the onions till light brown. 
Add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till the raw flavours are gone. Sprinkle little water to lower the temperature. Onions will turn brown by now.
Add the tomato paste and mix well with the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Add red chili paste,cumin,coriander,turmeric,salt. Fry till oil separates. If the masala sticks to the kadhai, sprinkle some water in it.
Add the chicken. Fry the chicken in the masala and mix well so that the masala coats the chicken. Don't fry too much or the chicken will turn hard. 
Add a cup of water. Cover and cook on low heat. I have added more water because I wanted more gravy.
Chicken gets cooked very fast. It will take around 15-20minutes. You can prick the chicken with a fork to check if it is well cooked.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Tips!
Serve with rice or roti.
Chili paste gives a nice red colour to the gravy. Otherwise you can use the kashmeri red chili powder.
Some people may not like raw coriander seeds in the gravy. In that case you can coarsely grind coriander and then add it. 
Toss some green capsicum slices in oil and garnish the chicken curry with it.