This recipe for Beit Tima’s famous kishik stew was given to us by Um Ibrahim, who enthused, “Ah! Kishik! It was one of our most favorite foods. Beautiful!”

Her grandchildren, she lamented, were not as excited about it: Kishik has one of those strong, pungent flavors you either love or hate. Um Ibrahim no longer felt up for cooking, so she sat in her sunny kitchen giving precise and exacting instructions to one of her several daughters-