Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt and keep it aside.
Roast all the ingredients under malvani masala until you get a nice nutty aroma.
Take it of the heat and let it cool for few minutes. Then ground into fine powder.
In a large thick bottomed pan/kadhai heat a table spoon of oil on medium heat and add the sliced onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until soft.
Then add the freshly grated coconut to the onions and roast them for 10-12 minutes until nicely roasted and golden brown in colour.
Take it off the heat and let it cool for some time and grind it into a paste with some water.
Add the rest of the oil to the same pan and heat it on medium flame. When the oil is hot add bay leaves and chopped onions and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
Toss in the marinated chicken and fry for 5 minutes until it is brown on all sides and no longer raw.
Then add the prepared malvani masala powder to the chicken and stir everything well.
Then stir in the onion- coconut paste to the chicken. Cook the chicken along with the masalas for 5-6 minutes.
Now add 3 cups of water to the chicken, cover and cook the chicken stirring intermittently. Check the seasoning add salt if required.
Cook for 18-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and you see the oil floating on top.
Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves and take it off the heat.
Serve it hot with rice, roti or kombdi vade.