Chicken & lemongrass rice with coriander fritters

Chicken second courses

This fragrant recipe almost created itself. I was boiling together chicken and rice with slices of onion and ginger when my eyes fell on fresh lemongrass lying in the fridge. The rest of the rice just seemed to follow. One might use jasmine rice for a recipe that uses lemongrass, but for this, I wanted to do away with the floral hint, and chose basmati instead. 'Basmati' in sanskrit means "the fragrant one", and its earthy, exotic notes shared space beautifully with the lemongrass. <br />The fritters add a crunchy texture to the smooth milkyness of the rice. These fritters are made with fresh, green coriander - a crunchy little treat that I used to love as a child, and still do.