At 40 years old, Hamila is an entrepreneur and the owner of a Moroccan packaged food business in London. She fondly recalls the excitement of the holiday when she and her father would bring a whole sheep back to their apartment. The women in the family would gather to clean the organs and trotters in the bathtub, following a specific order for eating the meat. The first day of Eid al-Adha was reserved for the organs, the second day for the head and trotters, and only on the third day, after the meat had rested, would they make kebabs, tagines, or grills. Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, is one of the two major Islamic holidays and occurs during the Hajj pilgrimage. It marks the story of prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail as requested by Allah. However, according to the Quran, God provided a ram for Ibrahim to sacrifice instead. Traditionally, people in the Islamic world have sacrificed a lamb, goat, cow, or camel at home and divided it among the needy, friends, relatives, and immediate family. However, home butchering of animals is now prohibited in many countries, including parts of the Arab world where a significant portion of the Muslim population resides. Meat remains an important aspect of Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid al-Lahm, or Festival of Meat, for many Arabs. However, as traditional celebrations begin to fade, particularly for Arab Muslims living away from their homeland, people are finding new ways to honor the holiday, which is known for its emphasis on food. Areej Bazzari, a digital marketing director in San Francisco who grew up in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, recalls how breakfast was the highlight of Eid al-Adha in her family, with a variety of offal dishes being served in different ways. Laughing, Bazzari remembered how her family had different teams for cooking the meals. "Team liver, team kidneys — that's how Eid at home looks like for me, with all of us arguing over who gets to sit in front of which plate." Since her Palestinian family relocated to Sonoma County in 2000, they have seldom cooked organ meat, as it is not readily available fresh there. If her father manages to find fresh heart or kidneys, they will incorporate it with other meats to keep the tradition alive, but not as abundantly as they did in Saudi Arabia. "We're not going to a slaughterhouse," she explained. "This is more like Dad going to Whole Foods." Bazzari, 38, values the way her Eid al-Adha celebrations have changed over time. "I appreciate being able to draw on childhood memories and various cultural traditions I am learning from friends here," she said. Eid al-Adha celebrations for her now typically involve a large gathering of extended family and friends, complete with decorations and a variety of dishes, including unique ones like fattehs, shushbarak, and manaqeesh. Dessert is always a special treat from her parents' trips to Saudi Arabia or Jordan, with traditional holiday cookies like ka'ak and ma'amoul being a must-have on the table. This year, her dessert spread will include cookies filled with dates or nuts. However, her main dish for the upcoming holiday season will be mechoui, a leg of lamb slow-roasted to perfection - a staple in her feast not only for its delicious taste but also for its symbolic significance. Accompanying dishes will mainly consist of salads and vegetables to keep the meal light, considering it is the middle of summer. Eid al-Adha is tentatively scheduled for July 20 this year, as Islamic holidays are determined by the Hijri lunar calendar and the sighting of a new moon. As a result, the dates of these holidays shift through the seasons over time. Just a decade or two ago, Eid al-Adha was observed in cooler weather. In the last five years, the holiday has coincided with summer, which has affected the types of food chosen. Hamila values the changes from the usual traditions and believes that traditions should evolve. She believes that the most important thing is to fully participate in the festivities and feel the spirit of the occasion. Sumaya Obaid, a chef and TV personality from the United Arab Emirates, remembers that when she was young, neighbors of all backgrounds would come together to sacrifice sheep for Eid al-Adha, then clean and share the meat. She mentioned that with the change in laws and the end of slaughtering animals at home, the sense of community that came with collaborating, sharing, butchering, and cleaning together has disappeared. However, other aspects of Eid celebration, such as Machboos el-Eid, remain unchanged in the Emirates. The spice-rubbed and roasted lamb dish is still a central part of the holiday, with each family having their own variation of the saffron-laced spice mixture. Women take pride in selecting fresh spices at the market before the celebration to grind and prepare at home, making each blend unique. "I will only give this to my daughter as it is a highly secretive family recipe. The essence of Eid al-Adha meals is generosity, even though meat is the main focus. Hopefully one day we can share our family's machboos with you," Obaid added quickly. The recipe for Ka'ak el Eid makes about 35 round cookies and takes a total time of 1 3/4 hours, plus overnight resting and cooling. The ingredients for the dough include semolina flour, all-purpose flour, butter, vegetable oil, nigella seeds, aniseed, fennel seeds, baking powder, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water. The filling consists of date paste and ground cinnamon. To prepare the dough, mix the dry ingredients with the butter and oil until it resembles wet sand." Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight or for a few hours to allow the semolina to soften and absorb the butter and oil. The next day or later, add nigella seeds, aniseed, fennel, baking powder, yeast, sugar, and salt to the semolina mixture and mix gently with your hands. Add 1/2 cup warm water and knead gently for no more than 2 minutes to finish the dough. The combination may still be crumbly at this stage. Slowly pour the remaining 1/2 cup of water into the mixture, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead for about 1 minute after each addition, being careful not to over-knead. Repeat until you can gather a lump of dough in your hand and it stays intact. The amount of water needed may vary depending on factors like weather or type of flour. The goal is to have a dough clump easily come together and not break apart when rolled into a log. Cover the mixture and allow it to sit while you get the filling ready. Line a medium baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment paper and grease it with oil. Pour some oil into a small bowl to use for greasing your hands as needed. Combine the date paste and cinnamon in a bowl and knead with greased hands until well mixed. Grease your hands and divide the filling into approximately 35 portions, each the size of a golf ball. Roll each portion into a string slightly thinner than your finger and about 4 to 5 inches long on a flat surface. Then, place them on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use. These can sit at room temperature for a couple of days without any problem. Step 6: Get ready to bake the cookies by preheating the oven to 400 degrees and lining a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a portion of dough about the size of a golf ball, keeping the remaining dough covered to prevent it from drying out, and roll it into a 4-inch long sausage shape either between your palms or on a flat surface. Gently flatten the dough with your fingertips and place one of the date strings on top, trimming it as needed to fit the dough. Any pieces that have been cut off can be used to lengthen shorter pieces or combined to create more filling strings. Encase the dough around the date filling, then roll it on a flat surface to form a slightly elongated, thin sausage shape measuring about 8 to 9 inches in length. Bring one end over the other slightly to create a circular shape. Use a thin object (like a chopstick) to press down through both ends where they overlap, ensuring they are securely attached and will not separate while baking. Put the dough and filling on the baking sheet that has been lined and prepared. Repeat this process until all the dough and filling are used. Bake the cookies until they are a very light golden brown, which should take about 15 to 18 minutes. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once they have cooled, store them in an airtight container. Cookies can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature or up to 3 months in the freezer. Date paste can be easily found in Middle Eastern grocery stores or made at home by kneading soft Medjool dates with olive oil. Avoid using a food processor to prevent stickiness. The recipe for Sajiyeh yields 2 to 4 servings and takes a total of 40 minutes to prepare. The ingredients include olive oil, beef, Lebanese seven-spice blend, salt, onion, red bell pepper, jalapeños or green bell pepper, and bread or tortillas for serving. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron pan over medium heat until it is shimmering and hot, but not smoking. Then, add the strips of meat, spice blend, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook while stirring occasionally until all the released water evaporates and the meat begins to brown all over, which should take about 10 minutes. After the meat is browned, pour in 1/2 cup of water, cover the pan, and allow it to cook until the water evaporates again and oil visibly releases, which should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat the procedure: Include an additional 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook until the water disappears and oil is released. Then, add the onion, pepper, jalapeños, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook without a lid, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown and the meat begins to tenderize, approximately 4 minutes. Include an additional 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking without a cover, stirring occasionally, until some of the water has evaporated and a thick sauce coats the meat and vegetables, which should take about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve right away with bread to soak up the meat and gravy. A helpful tip is to substitute the seven-spice blend with 1/2 teaspoon each of ground allspice, ground cinnamon, and ground black pepper, along with 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and a little bit of nutmeg. (©2021 The New York Times Company)