At 40 years old, Hamila is a business owner in London who fondly recalls the excitement of the holiday season. She and her father used to bring a whole sheep back to their apartment, where the women would gather to clean the innards and trotters in the bathtub. Hamila reminisces about the specific order in which they would eat the meat, saving the organs for the first day of Eid al-Adha, the head and trotters for the second day, and finally making kebabs, tagines, or grills on the third day after the meat had rested. Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, is the second major Islamic holiday of the year and corresponds with the Hajj pilgrimage. It honors the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at the request of Allah. As stated in 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 distributed it among the less fortunate, 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 a key component of Eid al-Adha, known colloquially as Eid al-Lahm or Festival of Meat by many Arabs. However, as traditional celebrations begin to fade, particularly for Arab Muslims living outside of their home countries, people are finding new ways to observe this holiday, which is known for its emphasis on food. Areej Bazzari, a digital marketing director at Salesforce in San Francisco, recalls the breakfast tradition in Saudi Arabia and Jordan where her family enjoyed a variety of offal dishes prepared in different ways such as braised with garlic, fried with onion and spices, or mixed with eggs. Bazzari fondly remembers the teamwork involved in preparing these meals. Bazzari fondly recalls her family's lively debates over who would get to sit in front of which plate of organ meat during Eid celebrations at home. Since moving to Sonoma County in 2000, her Palestinian family has had difficulty finding fresh organ meat, so they rarely prepare it. When her father does manage to find fresh heart or kidneys, they incorporate it with other cuts of meat to uphold the tradition, though not as abundantly as they did in Saudi Arabia. Bazzari appreciates how her Eid al-Adha celebrations have adapted over time, drawing on childhood memories and new cultural traditions learned from friends in the United States. Eid al-Adha festivities for her now typically involve a large gathering of extended family and friends, complete with decorations and a variety of dishes, including unique options like fattehs, shushbarak, and manaqeesh. Dessert is always a special treat from her home country, with her parents bringing back traditional sweets from Saudi Arabia or Jordan each year. Ka’ak and ma’amoul, classic holiday cookies in the Arab world, are a must-have on the dessert table. This year, Hamila's dessert spread will feature cookies filled with dates or nuts. However, her signature dish for the upcoming holiday season will be mechoui, a slow-cooked leg of lamb that holds significance beyond just its delicious taste. She plans to serve lighter side dishes such as salads and vegetables since it is the middle of summer. The date for this year's Eid al-Adha is tentatively scheduled for July 20, but the exact date varies due to the Islamic calendar being based on lunar sightings. In the past, Eid al-Adha was celebrated during cooler weather, but now it moves through the seasons over time. In the last five years, the holiday has taken place during the summer, affecting food choices. Hamila values the changes from the usual traditions and believes that traditions should be flexible. She emphasizes the importance of participating in festivities and connecting with the essence of the occasion. Sumaya Obaid, a chef and TV personality from the United Arab Emirates, remembers her childhood when neighbors, regardless of differences in race or social status, would come together to slaughter sheep for Eid al-Adha, then clean and distribute the meat. She mentioned that with the changes in laws and people no longer slaughtering animals at home, the sense of community and togetherness during butchering and cleaning has disappeared. However, other aspects of Eid celebration, such as the traditional dish Machboos el-Eid, are still preserved in the Emirates. The saffron-spiced lamb dish is made with a unique blend of spices that vary from family to family, and women take pride in selecting fresh spices from the market to prepare at home before the celebration. “I will only give it to my daughter because it is a highly confidential family secret,” said Obaid, emphasizing the essence of generosity in Eid al-Adha meals. He expressed his hope that one day they would share their family's machboos with their guest. Cover the mixture and let it sit at room temperature overnight or for a few hours so the semolina can soften and absorb the butter and oil. The next day or after a few hours, add nigella seeds, aniseed, fennel, baking powder, yeast, sugar, and salt to the mixture and gently mix together with your hands. Then add 1/2 cup of warm water and knead the dough gently for no more than 2 minutes. The mixture may still be crumbly at this stage. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water gradually in 1-tablespoon increments, kneading for about 1 minute after each addition. Be careful not to over-knead. You may need to adjust the amount of water based on factors like climate or flour. The goal is to achieve dough that holds together when rolled into a log. Cover the mixture and allow it to sit while you get the filling ready. To prepare the filling, line a medium baking sheet with either 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 them together slightly with greased hands until evenly mixed. Grease your hands and divide the filling into approximately 35 portions, each the size of a golf ball. Roll each portion into a thin string about 4 to 5 inches long on a flat surface. Place the strings on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use. The filling can sit at room temperature for a couple of days without any problems. Step 6: Begin making the cookies by preheating the oven to 400 degrees and lining a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a piece 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 sausage shape approximately 4 inches long using your palms or a flat surface. Gently flatten the dough with your fingers and place a date string on top, cutting it to fit the dough as needed. Cut off pieces can be used to lengthen shorter pieces or combined to create additional filling strings. Wrap the dough around the date filling and roll it on a flat surface to form a slightly longer, thin sausage shape measuring 8 to 9 inches in length. Position one end slightly over the other to create a ring shape. Use a thin object like a chopstick to press down through the overlapping ends to securely attach them and prevent them from separating while baking. Arrange the dough and filling on the lined baking sheet and repeat until all of it is used. Bake the cookies until they are a pale golden brown, usually 15 to 18 minutes. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cooled, store 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. To make date paste, you can either purchase it from a Middle Eastern grocery store or make it at home by kneading pitted Medjool dates with olive oil by hand. Avoid using a food processor as it will make the dates sticky and hard to remove. The Sajiyeh recipe serves 2 to 4 people and takes a total of 40 minutes to prepare. Ingredients include olive oil, beef, Lebanese seven-spice blend, sea salt, onion, bell peppers, and jalapeños. Serve with Saj bread, pita, naan, or flour tortillas. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron pan over medium heat until it is shimmering and hot, but not smoking. Add the strips of meat, spice blend, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the released water evaporates and the meat begins to brown on all sides, which should take about 10 minutes. After the meat has browned, add 1/2 cup of water, cover the pan, and continue cooking until the water has evaporated again and the oil is visibly released, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Continue with the steps: Pour in another 1/2 cup of water, cover the pot, and allow the mixture to cook until the water evaporates and oil starts to release. Then, add the onion, pepper, jalapeños, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the onions are browned and the meat begins to soften, which should take about 4 minutes. Add an additional 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking uncovered, stirring occasionally, until some of the liquid evaporates and a thick sauce coats the meat and vegetables, approximately 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 a mixture of ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground black pepper, ground cumin, and nutmeg.