Make the marinade: Whisk together the coconut milk, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, and tamarind paste in a bowl until well-combined. Put the pieces of chicken in the marinade, then transfer into an airtight container to keep in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours.

Combine all-purpose flour, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon ground cumin in a large bowl. Take the marinated chicken out of the fridge, remove them from the marinade (reserving the marinade for the sauce), and dredge the chicken in the flour mix, one piece at a time, making sure to get flour into all the nooks and crannies of the chicken. Then, place the chicken on a wire rack, ready to deep fry.

Pour vegetable oil (or any other neutral oil) into a large, deep pot until at least 2 inches deep, and heat it up to 360°F. Then, deep-fry each chicken piece for 5 minutes, before flipping it and deep-frying for 5 more minutes. (Unless you have a massive fry pot, cook the chicken one or two pieces at a time so as not to overcrowd the pot.) When done, remove the chicken from the oil, and let them rest for at least 5 minutes, after which you can return the chicken to the oil again for a second fry for 2 minutes, for extra crispiness.

Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, fresh chiles, dried chiles, and vegetable oil in a food processor for 20 to 30 seconds, until it turns into a lumpy paste. Then, transfer the paste into a medium frying pan set over medium heat, and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the paste has sautéed sufficiently (you’ll see bits of oil start to split from the paste), pour the reserved marinade into the pan and add the dark brown sugar, cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom to the pan too. Turn the heat to low, and let it simmer slowly for 30 minutes, until the sauce turns thick and caramelized. (It’s normal for rendang sauces to split and leak some reddish oil. If desired, you can scoop out some of the oil with a spoon and discard it.)

To serve, place the chicken pieces on a plate, put large dollops of rendang sauce on top of each piece of chicken, then sprinkle slivers of makrut lime leaves on top.