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One found with joy that the traditional Indian spice mix podi – a coarse mix of fiery, roughly ground spices, which you mix with a little oil and use as a dip 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 generous to say that I’m far less daring with chilli, so here I suggest chilli flakes instead. It’s an remarkably tasty marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing

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

Prep 10 min
Cook 30 minutes
Serves two people

Four hundred grams starchy potatoes, sliced into four-centimeter chunks
225g paneer, cubed into 0.8-inch cubes
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
One teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon 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, skinned and shredded
Forty milliliters flavorless oil
One red onion, peeled and cut into eight wedges, then sliced across

For the dressing
Lime zest and juice, freshly prepared
10g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp flaky sea salt
100g natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for nine minutes, then pour off the liquid and leave to steam dry for a minute. In the interim, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for a short while, then strain and blot dry.

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

Tip into a large mixing bowl with the minced ginger and garlic, add the oil, then gently stir in the ingredients to coat. Thread the paneer, potatoes and onions on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then transfer to a baking sheet and set aside until needed – if you like, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Whisk all the sauce elements in a container. Turn on the grill to its maximum heat, then bake the sticks for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is browned and the potatoes are starting to char. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the heat of your broiler, so watch carefully, especially when cooking the first side.)

Present the skewers warm, sprinkled with a little more flaky salt and the sauce on the side for serving.