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I was delighted to discover that the south Indian spice mix podi – a rough grind of intensely spicy, coarsely crushed spices, which you mix with a little oil and use as a sauce for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” seasoning. 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 bold with chilli, so here I suggest chilli flakes instead. It’s an exceptionally great marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Citrus-Mint Dressing

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

Prep 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves two people

400g waxy potatoes, sliced into 4cm chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, diced into 2cm cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
One teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, and additional for garnish
2 cloves of garlic, skinned and shredded
2½cm piece fresh ginger, prepared and minced
Forty milliliters flavorless oil
1 red onion, peeled and cut into eight wedges, then sliced across

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

Cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then drain them and let them dry from steam for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for five minutes, then remove water and dry gently.

Add the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a mortar or spice grinder, add the salt, chili flakes, and peppercorns, then mash or process to a chunky blend.

Tip into a sizable container with the minced ginger and garlic, add the oil, then gently stir in the paneer cubes, boiled potatoes, and onion wedges to coat. Skewer the paneer, potatoes and onions on to the prepared skewers, then place on a tray and set aside until needed – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Beat all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl. Heat the grill to its highest setting, then bake the sticks for a short time on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are getting slightly burnt. (This may take a variable duration depending on the heat of your broiler, so keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

Serve the skewers hot, scattered with a little more salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.