This Speedy and Easy Gunpowder Paneer and Potato Skewers with Lime-Mint Dressing – Cooking Guide

I learned that the South Indian spice mix podi – a coarse mix of searingly hot, roughly ground spices, which you mix with 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 homemade dried chilies, 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 extraordinarily good marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.

Spicy Paneer and Potato Skewers with Mint-Lime Dressing

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

Prep 10 min
Cook 30 minutes
Serves two people

400g starchy potatoes, chopped into four-centimeter chunks
Two hundred twenty-five grams paneer, diced into 2cm cubes
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
Half a tsp fennel seeds
One tsp cumin seeds
One teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tsp chilli flakes
One and a half teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus extra to serve
2 garlic pieces, peeled and grated
1-inch piece fresh ginger, skinned and shredded
Forty milliliters neutral oil
1 red onion, peeled and cut into eight wedges, then halved crossways

For the dressing
Lime zest and juice, freshly prepared
Ten grams fresh mint leaves, minced
½ tsp flaky sea salt
One hundred grams natural yoghurt

Simmer the potatoes for 9 minutes, then remove the water and leave to steam dry for a minute. In the interim, put the paneer cubes in a pot of hot water for 5 minutes, then strain and blot dry.

Tip the cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds into a grinding bowl or mill, add the peppercorns, chilli flakes and sea salt, then mash or process to a coarse mixture.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl with the minced ginger and garlic, add the oil, then carefully mix in the cubed paneer, cooked potatoes and red onions to coat. Thread the components on to six to eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, then place on a tray and set aside until needed – if you like, you can at this stage wrap and chill the skewers.

Stir all the sauce elements in a mixing bowl. Heat the grill to its highest setting, then grill the skewers for 5–7 minutes on each side, until the paneer is crispy and the potatoes are beginning to blacken. (This may take a different amount of time depending on the heat of your broiler, so watch carefully, especially when cooking the first side.)

Offer the grilled sticks immediately, sprinkled with a little more salt and the sauce on the side for serving.