This Speedy and Effortless Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing – Cooking Guide

I found with joy that the South Indian seasoning podi – a rough grind of fiery, crudely milled spices, which you stir into a little oil and use as a accompaniment for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” spice mix. It's aptly named 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 crushed chilies instead. It’s an exceptionally great marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Mint-Lime Dressing

You will need six to eight barbecue sticks (if made of wood, soak them in water for 10 minutes first).

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves 2

400g waxy potatoes, cut into four-centimeter chunks
8 ounces paneer, cubed into 2cm cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
One teaspoon cumin seeds
One tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
One and a half tsp flaky sea salt, plus extra to serve
Two garlic cloves, skinned and shredded
2½cm piece fresh ginger, prepared and minced
Forty milliliters flavorless oil
One red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then sliced across

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
0.35 ounces fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp flaky sea salt
3.5 ounces natural yoghurt

Simmer the potatoes for 9 minutes, then remove the water and let them dry from steam for a minute. In the interim, put the paneer cubes in a container with heated water for 5 minutes, then strain and blot dry.

Tip the spice seeds into a pestle and mortar or blender, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then crush or grind to a coarse mixture.

Transfer to a sizable container with the shredded aromatics, add the oil, then carefully mix in the ingredients to coat. Skewer the paneer, potatoes and onions on to barbecue sticks, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep ready – optionally, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Stir all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl. Heat the grill to its maximum heat, then bake the sticks for five to seven minutes on each side, until the paneer is crispy and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (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.)

Present the skewers warm, scattered with a little more salt and the dressing alongside for dipping.