I was delighted to discover that the south Indian spice mix podi – a rubble 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” spice mix. That’s not a misnomer if you were using my grandmother’s home-dried chillies, but it would be charitable to say that I’m far less adventurous with chilli, so here I suggest chilli flakes instead. It’s an extraordinarily good marinade for these paneer and potato skewers.
