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One was delighted to discover that the South Indian spice mix podi – a rubble of searingly hot, crudely milled spices, which you mix with a little oil and use as a accompaniment for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” spice mix. That’s not a misnomer 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 red pepper flakes instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing

Gather six to eight barbecue sticks (if wooden, let them sit in water for 10 minutes first).

Prep 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves a couple

14 ounces firm potatoes, chopped into 1.5-inch chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, diced into 0.8-inch cubes
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
One tsp black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
One and a half tsp flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 cloves of garlic, skinned and shredded
Two and a half centimeters piece fresh ginger, prepared and minced
40ml neutral oil
1 red onion, prepared and divided into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
Ten grams fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
One hundred grams natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for nine minutes, then drain them and allow to air dry for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a bowl of boiling water for five minutes, then drain and pat dry.

Add the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a grinding bowl or mill, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then pound or blitz to a chunky blend.

Place in a large mixing bowl with the minced ginger and garlic, add the oil, then carefully mix in the cubed paneer, cooked potatoes and red onions to coat. Thread the vegetables and cheese on to barbecue sticks, then move to a sheet pan and keep ready – if desired, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Whisk all the dressing components in a container. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, then cook the skewers for 5–7 minutes on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are starting to char. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the fierceness of your grill, so watch carefully, especially when cooking the first side.)

Serve the skewers hot, topped with a little more flaky salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.