India, June 9 -- I've been hopping onto a flight almost every month for the past two years. One learning I've had is that airport security can be surprisingly unpredictable.

I have carried packets of Meghana biryani from Bengaluru to Bhopal, cartons of mangosteens, freshly milled jowar atta, bananas, mangoes, multiple water bottles and even a coffee mug filled with homemade iced coffee. Most of it made it through without a problem. The jowar atta did trigger a security check because, apparently, it shows up on scanners much like red chilli powder. The one thing that did not make it? An expensive hair mask that Hong Kong airport security promptly confiscated because it was sitting in my cabin bag instead of checked baggage.

After enough ...