First step would be to pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove any excess water. The chicken should not have any moisture.

Next step is to sear the chicken. Heat a heavy bottom pot (with a lid) on high. Turn the flame to a medium 5 or 6 and add the oil. Let the oil heat for a couple of minutes. Now, add half of the chicken and let it sear on each side until the exterior gets brown. This should take somewhere between 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure to do this in two to three batches. If you overcrowd the pot, the meat will start releasing water and start to cook. The idea here is to just sear the surface of the meat. The meat shall cook to perfection later in the recipe.

Once all the chicken has been seared, remove it from the pot and set it aside. There should be some leftover oil in the pot, if not add a teaspoon of oil and wait until it heats up. Then add the bay leaves, red chili flakes and chopped onion. Sauté it until the onions turn translucent.

Now add the jalapeno and garlic paste, sauté for no more than 30 seconds. Then add the chicken and tomato paste, sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add water and salt, give it a stir. Put the lid and let it simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, stir the peanut butter in, along with the chopped bell pepper. Adding the bell pepper later in the recipe will ensure the pepper remain crunchy and retain its sweetness. Put the lid back on and cook for another 5 minutes.

Give it a taste and add more salt if needed.

By now the chicken thighs should be fork tender, enjoy!