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I found with joy that the traditional Indian spice mix podi – a rough grind of intensely spicy, coarsely crushed spices, which you combine with a little oil and use as a accompaniment for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” spice mix. This is accurate if you were using my grandmother’s homemade dried chilies, but it would be kind to say that I’m far less bold with chilli, so here I suggest crushed chilies instead. It’s an extraordinarily good marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Citrus-Mint Dressing

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

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook 30 min
Serves two people

400g firm potatoes, cut into 4cm chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, diced into two-centimeter cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
One tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
1½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, with more for serving
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
2½cm piece fresh ginger, prepared and minced
Forty milliliters neutral oil
One red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
Ten grams fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Half a teaspoon flaky sea salt
3.5 ounces natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for 9 minutes, then drain them and allow to air dry for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for five minutes, then drain and pat dry.

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

Tip into a medium-large bowl with the grated garlic and ginger, add the oil, then lightly combine with the paneer cubes, boiled potatoes, and onion wedges to coat. Skewer the components on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then move to a sheet pan and keep ready – if you like, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Beat all the sauce elements in a container. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, then cook the skewers for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is golden brown and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the fierceness of your grill, so keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

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