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One found with joy that the traditional Indian spice mix podi – a rubble of fiery, roughly ground spices, which you combine with a little oil and use as a dip 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 charitable to say that I’m far less bold with chilli, so here I suggest red pepper flakes instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Mint-Lime Dressing

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

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 30 min
Serves a couple

400g waxy potatoes, cut into 1.5-inch chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, cut into 0.8-inch cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
One tsp black peppercorns
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
One and a half tsp flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 garlic pieces, prepared and minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
about 3 tablespoons flavorless oil
One red onion, peeled and cut into eight wedges, then sliced across

For the dressing
Lime zest and juice, freshly prepared
Ten grams fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Half a tsp flaky sea salt
100g natural yoghurt

Boil the potatoes for nine minutes, then pour off the liquid and allow to air dry for a minute. In the interim, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry.

Add the cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds into a mortar or spice grinder, add the salt, chili flakes, and peppercorns, then mash or process to a rough rubble.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl with the shredded aromatics, add the oil, then lightly combine with the paneer cubes, boiled potatoes, and onion wedges to coat. Skewer the components on to barbecue sticks, then place on a tray and set aside until needed – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the dressing components in a medium bowl. Preheat the broiler to its top temperature, then bake the sticks for 5–7 minutes on each side, until the paneer is browned and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the intensity of your oven, so keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

Serve the skewers hot, scattered with a little more flaky salt and the dressing alongside for dipping.