steamed chicken stuffed with rice

Ingredients (a 2 chickens weighing 3 lbs each (for choosing and cleaning a chicken ):

*1 kg (2 ibs 3 oz) of tomatoes * 4 small bunch of chopped parsley

* 2 pickled lemons * 1 heaped teaspoonful of pepper * 1/2 teaspoonful of ground chilli

* 1 full glass of polished rice  * 100 g (4 oz) of butter  * salt * cumin

Preparation:

Wash and drain the rice. Peel, seed and cut up the tomatoes. Chop the parsley and cut, the zest of the pickled lemons as fine as the parsley. Add salt, pepper and chilli and mix up all the ingredients, Put this stuffing and 50 g (2 oz) of butter inside each chicken. Put them in the upper part of the couscous steamer over the lower part containing 3 to 4 litres (5 to 7 pts) of boiling water.

Bind the 2 parts with a strip of material steeped in flour and water. Cover the chickens with a clean damp cloth and put the lid on. Leave to cook over a moderate heat. About 1 1/2 hours later check if the chickens are done by seeing if the flesh comes away from the bones easily in the fingers. Removefrom the heat. Arrange on a dish and serve with a separate small dish with a mixture of salt and cumin.