chicken with fried aubergines

Ingredientes for 2 chicken weighing about 3 ibs :

* 3kg (6 lbs 10 oz) of aubergines * 1 heaped teaspoonful of ginger

* 1 coffeespoonful of saffron (mixed packet saffron and crushed saffron flowers)

* 3/4 ladle of groundnut oil * 1 crushed clove of garlic

* 1/2 teaglassful of lemon juice (for the chickens) * 1/2 to 1 glassful of lemon juice (for the aubergfnes)

* salt * 1 teaspoonful of flour

Preparation:

Wash the aubergines, tail them divide in halves and put them in salt water. Peel the aubergines lengthways keeping strips of skin, about 2 cm (1 ‘) wide, on them. Cut into rounds 2 cm (1 ) thick. Spread them out on a dish, sprinkling table salt on them as they are cut so that they do not discolour, Fry these rings in boiling oil on both sides, drain and put on one side. Cut the chicken into pieces, put in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the offal. Add salt, garlic, saffron, ginger and oil and cover with two big glassfuls of water.

Cook with the lid on over a moderate heat, turning over from time to time, Add water during cooking if necessary. When the chickens are cooked, i.e. their flesh comes away from the bones easily in the fingers, take off the heat. Drain the tails of the aubergines and put them into the saucepan which is still on the heat. Add a little water to the reduced sauce so that they do not discolour. When cooked, add 1/2 glassful of lemon juice and a teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a little water to thicken the sauce.

Bring to the boil, check the seasoning and remove the aubergines from the saucepan when the sauce has thickened. Put the aubergines in a frying pan, mash up, frying over the heat, then strain, pressing out the superfluous oil. Put the frying pan back on the heat. Add 1/2 to 1 teaglassfuj of lemon juice to taste, mix well, check the seasoning and take off the heat, Arrange the re-heated chickens with the aubergines on top in a dish. Pour the sauce over and serve very hot.