This Speedy and Effortless Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing – Method

One was delighted to discover that the traditional Indian seasoning podi – a rubble of searingly hot, roughly ground spices, which you stir into a little oil and use as a sauce for dosa or idli – is also known as “gunpowder” seasoning. This is accurate if you were using my grandmother’s personally dried peppers, but it would be kind to say that I’m far less daring with chilli, so here I suggest crushed chilies instead. It’s an extraordinarily good marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Mint-Lime Dressing

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

Prep 10 minutes
Cook half an hour
Serves 2

Four hundred grams firm potatoes, sliced into four-centimeter chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, cubed into two-centimeter cubes
One tsp coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
1½ tsp flaky sea salt, with more for serving
Two garlic pieces, peeled and grated
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Forty milliliters mild oil
One red onion, skinned and sliced into eight wedges, then halved crossways

For the dressing
Zest and juice from one lime, finely grated
0.35 ounces fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Half a tsp flaky sea salt
One hundred grams natural yoghurt

Cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then drain them and leave to steam dry for a minute. Meanwhile, put the paneer cubes in a container with heated water for a short while, then drain and pat dry.

Tip the spice seeds into a mortar or spice grinder, add the seasonings, then mash or process to a rough rubble.

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. Thread the components on to the prepared skewers, then move to a sheet pan and keep ready – if you like, you can at this stage store in the fridge the skewers.

Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing in a container. Turn on the grill to its maximum heat, then grill the skewers for a short time on each side, until the paneer is browned and the potatoes are getting slightly burnt. (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.)

Serve the skewers hot, scattered with a little more flaky salt and the sauce on the side for serving.