Black kale and aubergine spring rolls with ginger and tamarind dipping sauce

Ingredients

For the spring rolls
200g/7oz black kale/cavolo nero, stalks removed
400g/14oz aubergine, finely chopped
olive oil
1 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp soy sauce
1 pinch caster sugar
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 fresh red chilli, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
4 cloves, ground
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
8 spring roll pastry sheets
300ml/½ pint vegetable oil, for frying
For the tamarind sauce
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
300ml/10fl oz water
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3cm/1¼in piece fresh root ginger, chopped
1 whole dried bird's eye chilli

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the spring rolls, drop the kale into a large saucepan of boiling salted water.
3. Bring back to the boil, remove the kale, drain and cool it in a bowl of cold water, then squeeze out all the water.
4. Dry the kale fully with kitchen paper or a tea-towel so that the spring rolls do not become soggy, then chop into thin slivers about 3cm/1¼in long.
5. Stir the aubergine in olive oil and arrange in a single layer in an oven dish. Cover loosely with baking parchment and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, checking and shaking occasionally to ensure the pieces are fully cooked and lightly coloured. Mix the tomato purée, soy sauce and sugar together and stir them quickly into the cooked aubergine.
6. In a mixing bowl, combine the kale, aubergine, spring onions, chilli and spices to make the spring roll filling. Lay a sheet of spring roll pastry on a worktop with one corner facing you. A quarter of the way up, place one and a half tablespoons of filling in a line (not to the edge) and brush the edges of the pastry with water.
7. Fold the bottom corner over the filling and roll the spring roll to just beyond the halfway point, keeping it as tight and even as possible. Fold in the sides and continue rolling. Repeat with the rest of the pastry sheets and filling.
8. In a wide frying pan, heat 1cm/½in vegetable oil to a medium temperature, about 160C/325F. Carefully slide in some of the spring rolls, making sure you do not crowd the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side until the spring rolls are crisp and coloured. You can also cook them in a deep-fryer but make sure the temperature is not too high or they may burst. Remove the spring rolls and place them on kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil.
9. For the tamarind sauce, put the tamarind and water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Press the liquid through a sieve and return it to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Simmer again for a further ten minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Sieve again to remove the ginger and chilli, and leave the sauce to cool.
10. Serve the spring rolls piled on a plate with the tamarind sauce as a dip.