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I found with joy that the south Indian spice mix podi – a coarse mix of fiery, crudely milled spices, which you stir into a little oil and use as a sauce for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” spice mix. This is accurate if you were using my grandmother’s home-dried chillies, but it would be kind to say that I’m far less adventurous with chilli, so here I suggest crushed chilies instead. It’s an exceptionally great marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing

You will need six to eight metal or wooden skewers (if made of wood, soak them in water for 10 minutes first).

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Serves two people

400g starchy potatoes, chopped into 1.5-inch chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, cubed into 2cm cubes
1 tsp coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
1½ tsp flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
about 3 tablespoons neutral oil
One red onion, peeled and cut into eight wedges, then sliced across

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
10g fresh mint leaves, minced
Half a tsp flaky sea salt
One hundred grams natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then pour off the liquid and let them dry from steam for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for five minutes, then remove water and dry gently.

Add the spice seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the seasonings, then mash or process to a coarse mixture.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl with the grated garlic and ginger, add the oil, then carefully mix in the cubed paneer, cooked potatoes and red onions to coat. Thread the paneer, potatoes and onions on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep ready – optionally, you can at this stage cover and refrigerate the skewers.

Beat all the sauce elements in a mixing bowl. Turn on the grill to its top temperature, then grill the skewers for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are getting slightly burnt. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the heat of your broiler, so monitor closely, especially when cooking the first side.)

Present the skewers warm, topped with a little more flaky salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.