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I found with joy that the south Indian spice mix podi – a rough grind of searingly hot, crudely milled spices, which you combine with a little oil and use as a dip for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” blend. That’s not a misnomer if you were using my grandmother’s home-dried chillies, but it would be charitable to say that I’m far less adventurous with chilli, so here I suggest chilli flakes instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Citrus-Mint Dressing

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

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves two people

400g starchy potatoes, sliced into 1.5-inch chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, cubed into two-centimeter cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
Half a teaspoon fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
One teaspoon black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
One and a half teaspoon flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 garlic pieces, skinned and shredded
Two and a half centimeters piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
about 3 tablespoons neutral oil
1 red onion, prepared and divided into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

For the dressing
Lime zest and juice, freshly prepared
0.35 ounces fresh mint leaves, minced
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
100g natural yoghurt

Simmer the potatoes for 9 minutes, then pour off the liquid and leave to steam dry for a minute. In the interim, put the paneer cubes in a container with heated water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry.

Add the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then pound or blitz to a rough rubble.

Place in a large mixing bowl with the grated garlic and ginger, add the oil, then carefully mix in the paneer cubes, boiled potatoes, and onion wedges to coat. Arrange the paneer, potatoes and onions on to barbecue sticks, then place on a tray and set aside until needed – if desired, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the sauce elements in a container. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, then cook the skewers for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is browned and the potatoes are getting slightly burnt. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the heat of your broiler, so watch carefully, especially when cooking the first side.)

Serve the skewers hot, topped with a little more sea salt and the sauce on the side for serving.