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I found with joy that the south Indian blend podi – a rubble of fiery, roughly ground 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 kind 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.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Citrus-Mint Dressing

Prepare six to eight metal or wooden skewers (if bamboo, soak them in water for 10 minutes first).

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook 30 min
Serves a couple

Four hundred grams waxy potatoes, sliced into 4cm chunks
8 ounces paneer, diced into 2cm cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
One teaspoon black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
One and a half tsp flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 garlic pieces, peeled and grated
2½cm piece fresh ginger, skinned and shredded
40ml neutral oil
1 red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then halved crossways

For the dressing
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
10g fresh mint leaves, minced
Half a tsp flaky sea salt
3.5 ounces natural yoghurt

Simmer the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then drain them and leave to steam dry for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove water and dry gently.

Tip the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a grinding bowl or mill, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then mash or process to a rough rubble.

Tip into 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. Thread the paneer, potatoes and onions on to barbecue sticks, then transfer to a baking sheet and set aside until needed – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the dressing components in a container. Heat the grill to its maximum heat, then cook the skewers for 5–7 minutes on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (This may take a little more or less time depending on the heat of your broiler, so monitor closely, especially when cooking the first side.)

Present the skewers warm, sprinkled with a little more flaky salt and the dressing alongside for dipping.