Decades ago, while accompanying my grandmother — an excellent cook — to various homes, I remember her and my mother discussing how, when they asked the host for the recipe of a dish we relished, a key ingredient was often left out. At the time, I thought they were just being critical, but over the years, I’ve noticed this as a defining characteristic when people ask others for recipes. Very rarely will you get the real recipe out of people. This thought resurfaced when I recently watched an interview with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. During an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Kapoor spoke about the fierce competition surrounding the creation of popular dishes and their “secret recipes.” He said, “When we went to learn something, the master would tell us to go fetch something when it came to a critical component. So, there was a lot of secrecy. Recipes used to be secret.” I find it quite amusing how restaurant chefs are hesitant to share recipes when diners ask for them. It’s a strange insecurity, considering …