6 pounds chicken — cut in serving piece
2 tablespoons coarse salt
7 garlic clove
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch saffron
3 large onion — grated
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup olives — pref Greek Kalamata
8 slices pickled lemon
Rub the chicken pieces well with a mixture of the salt and 4 of the garlic cloves, finely chopped. Let stand 1 hour for flavors to penetrate then wip off the garlic salt. Mix the oil, ginger, turmeric, pepper and saffron, and rub the chicken pieces with this mixture. Put them in a large bowl with any remaining oil mixture and marinate, covered and refrigerated for 8 hours or overnight. To cook, put the chicken in a large pot with the onion, remaining garlic, coarsely chopped, butter, chicken broth and 2 cups water. Simmer until tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken and rapidly boil the liquid down to a thick rich sauce, stirring frequently. Add the olives and pickled lemon slices, replace chicken, and reheat in the sauce. Serve with couscous or rice pilaf and a bowl of extra pickled lemons. To pickle lemons: 6 lemons vegetable oil coarse salt Sprinkle the lemons about 1/4″ thick, peel and all, put in colander, sprinkle heavily with salt. Cover with plastc wrap and drain over a bowl for 24 hours, until limp, with most of the juice drawn out. Wash off salt. Pack the lemon slices into a 1 quart jar, sprinkling them with about 2 T more salt. Fill the jar with vegetable oil. Cover the jar with lid and let lemons stand from 1 to 3 weeks, by which time they will be soft, mellow and not at all bitter. Keep pickled lemons for months in the refrigerator.