1. Heat oil in a pot adding your jeera seeds, curry leaves, dried chilies, green chillies, bay leaves, cloves for a minute and add the chopped onions. Fry till these are transluscent and lightly golding.
2. Add the red chilli ginger and garlic paste, all the spices and the chicken. Fry this all well until the chicken begins to brown
3. Add the chopped tomato, pouring a little boiling water from the side of the pot to prevent the bottom from burning, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Once the chicken is almost cooked, uncover and add in the chana dal, with a cup of boiling water to make a gravy.
5. Cover and allow to cook on low for about 15 minutes. You will need to keep adding water so keep checking.
6. Once the curry is almost ready add all your vagaar ingredients in a small pan until onions are golden brown and pour into the chicken dhall. Chop some coriander to garnish and enjoy.
7. Remember you can adjust your spices accordingly to your liking.

Note

You will need to add back quite a lot of water into the curry. Daals have a tendency to absorb a lot of moisture, therefore be prepared to adding back quite a lot of the chana dal water. In fact, even after you finish cooking the curry the lentils will continue to absorb moisture therefore you may feel the need to add additional water if you plan on eating it later