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I found with joy that the South Indian spice mix podi – a rubble of fiery, roughly ground spices, which you stir into a little oil and use as a dip for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” blend. 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 adventurous with chilli, so here I suggest crushed chilies instead. It’s an exceptionally great marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing

Prepare six to eight barbecue sticks (if wooden, immerse them in water for 10 minutes first).

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

400g waxy potatoes, chopped into four-centimeter chunks
8 ounces paneer, diced into 0.8-inch cubes
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
One tsp chilli flakes
One and a half tsp flaky sea salt, plus extra to serve
2 garlic pieces, prepared and minced
2½cm piece fresh ginger, skinned and shredded
Forty milliliters mild oil
One red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then cut in half horizontally

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

Boil the potatoes for 9 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 remove water and dry gently.

Tip the spice seeds into a grinding bowl or mill, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then mash or process to a chunky blend.

Place in a sizable container with the shredded aromatics, add the oil, then gently stir in the cubed paneer, cooked potatoes and red onions to coat. Thread the components on to barbecue sticks, then transfer to a baking sheet and reserve for later – if you like, you can at this stage wrap and chill the skewers.

Whisk all the dressing components in a medium bowl. Heat the grill to its top temperature, then grill the skewers for a short time 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 keep an eye on them, especially when cooking the first side.)

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