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One learned that the South Indian seasoning podi – a rough grind of intensely spicy, crudely milled spices, which you combine with a little oil and use as a accompaniment for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” spice mix. It's aptly named if you were using my grandmother’s home-dried chillies, but it would be charitable to say that I’m far less daring with chilli, so here I suggest red pepper flakes instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy 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 min
Cook 30 minutes
Serves 2

14 ounces firm potatoes, chopped into four-centimeter chunks
225g paneer, diced into 2cm cubes
1 tsp coriander seeds
Half a teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
One tsp black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
1½ tsp flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
Two garlic pieces, skinned and shredded
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
about 3 tablespoons neutral oil
One red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then sliced across

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

Cook the potatoes for 9 minutes, then drain them and leave to steam dry for a minute. At the same time, put the paneer cubes in a container with heated water for a short while, then remove water and dry gently.

Pour the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a grinding bowl or mill, add the salt, chili flakes, and peppercorns, then pound or blitz to a coarse mixture.

Place in a large mixing bowl with the grated garlic and ginger, add the oil, then gently stir in the ingredients to coat. Arrange the components on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep ready – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl. Preheat the broiler to its top temperature, then cook the skewers for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are getting slightly burnt. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the heat of your broiler, so keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

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