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I learned that the South Indian blend podi – a rubble 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” blend. This is accurate if you were using my grandmother’s home-dried chillies, but it would be charitable to say that I’m far less adventurous 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 Mint-Lime Dressing

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

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves a couple

400g firm potatoes, chopped into four-centimeter chunks
225g paneer, cubed into 0.8-inch cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
One teaspoon chilli flakes
1½ tsp flaky sea salt, with more for serving
Two garlic cloves, skinned and shredded
Two and a half centimeters piece fresh ginger, skinned and shredded
about 3 tablespoons neutral oil
One red onion, prepared and divided into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

For the dressing
Lime zest and juice, freshly prepared
0.35 ounces fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp flaky sea salt
3.5 ounces natural yoghurt

Simmer the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then pour off the liquid and allow to air dry for a minute. At the same time, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for a short while, then strain and blot dry.

Pour the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the seasonings, then mash or process to a rough rubble.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl with the shredded aromatics, add the oil, then gently stir in the ingredients to coat. Arrange the components on to barbecue sticks, then transfer to a baking sheet and reserve for later – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the sauce elements 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 crispy and the potatoes are starting to char. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the fierceness of your grill, so monitor closely, especially when cooking the first side.)

Offer the grilled sticks immediately, sprinkled with a little more salt and the accompaniment for drizzling.