What to do with a coconut? It seems like an easy question until you have to answer it. First, you have to get the thing open. Absent a machete, the hammer and knife-cum-chisel combination is probably your best option. After a number of hard, but controlled strokes of the hammer, the thing should start to crack. It lets out a satisfying hiss when the inner chamber is punctured and depressurized. Catch the juice in a bowl to drink.
Take a hammer to the coconut halves. Try not to break anything with the flying shards.
Now the coconut is open, you have to figure out what to do with it. Unless you have a bunch of coconut-loving friends, you've got a lot of coconut meat to get through. I guess I don't have enough friends, so I figured the coconut would provide a nice crust on some chicken thighs.
The thighs were marinated (well, more like coated) in a mixture of the following:
Approximately equal measures of ground cumin, ground coriander and chili powder. Slightly less turmeric and garam masala. About 5 cloves of garlic and an equal quantity of ginger, minced. Salt. I added some dried galangal too. Also, the juice of one lemon and enough oil to make the mixture like a wet paste.
After covering the chicken with this mixture, sprinkle grated coconut all over. Use coconut to sop up the paste that has dripped onto the pan and put it back on the chicken.
Bake.
I also made some onions to go with the chicken. I don't exactly remember what went into them, but I think there was cumin, black mustard seeds, garlic, maybe some garam masala. Something along those lines.
The chicken was awesome: juicy enough that no other sauce was needed to lubricate its bed of rice.
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