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One learned that the South Indian blend podi – a rough grind of fiery, coarsely crushed spices, which you mix with 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 personally dried peppers, but it would be charitable to say that I’m far less bold with chilli, so here I suggest chilli flakes 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, let them sit in water for 10 minutes first).

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 30 min
Serves a couple

400g firm potatoes, cut into four-centimeter chunks
8 ounces paneer, diced into 2cm cubes
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
Half a teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
One and a half teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus extra to serve
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
Two and a half centimeters piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
about 3 tablespoons mild oil
1 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
3.5 ounces natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for nine minutes, then remove the water and leave to steam dry for a minute. At the same time, put the paneer cubes in a bowl of boiling water for five minutes, then remove water and dry gently.

Add the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the seasonings, then mash or process to a chunky blend.

Transfer to a medium-large bowl with the shredded aromatics, add the oil, then carefully mix in the cubed paneer, cooked potatoes and red onions to coat. Arrange the paneer, potatoes and onions on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then place on a tray and set aside until needed – optionally, you can at this stage cover and refrigerate the skewers.

Whisk all the dressing components in a container. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, then bake the sticks for a short time on each side, until the paneer is crispy and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (This may take a variable duration depending on the heat of your broiler, so keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

Serve the skewers hot, sprinkled with a little more sea salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.