Heat oil and sauté garlic and onion until light golden, about 7 to 9 minutes. Add chili powder, sugar, salt, cumin, and bay leaf. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Add ground beef and cook, stirring, until evenly browned.
Stir in tomato paste, beef broth and corn meal.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf.  To assemble, grill them, then split them down the center. Run a line of mustard down the split, then top them with chili and chopped onions.  Makes about 20 servings of hot dog chili on chili dogs.