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 wipe 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 pieces 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. Pickled lemons: These keep for months in the refrigerator and are worth making in quantity. 6 lemons vegetable oil coarse salt Slice the lemons about 1 cm thick, peel and all, put in a colander, sprinkle heavily with salt. Cover with plastic 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 litre jar, sprinkling them with about 2 Tablespoons more salt. Fill the jar with vegetable oil. Cover 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.