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One was delighted to discover that the south Indian blend podi – a coarse mix of intensely spicy, roughly ground spices, which you combine with a little oil and use as a dip for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” seasoning. This is accurate if you were using my grandmother’s personally dried peppers, but it would be kind to say that I’m far less daring with chilli, so here I suggest crushed chilies instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Citrus-Mint Dressing

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

Prep 10 min
Cook half an hour
Serves 2

14 ounces firm potatoes, chopped into four-centimeter chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, cut into two-centimeter cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
One teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
1½ tsp flaky sea salt, with more for serving
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1-inch piece fresh ginger, skinned and shredded
40ml neutral oil
1 red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
Ten grams fresh mint leaves, diced small
Half a tsp flaky sea salt
One hundred grams 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 container with heated water for five minutes, then remove water and dry gently.

Add the spice seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then mash or process to a chunky blend.

Place in 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. Skewer the components on to the prepared skewers, then move to a sheet pan and reserve for later – optionally, you can at this stage wrap and chill the skewers.

Stir all the sauce elements in a mixing bowl. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, then cook the skewers for 5–7 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 intensity of your oven, so watch carefully, especially when cooking the first side.)

Present the skewers warm, sprinkled with a little more sea salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.