Are you familiar with Prakas? Prakas is what my family has always called Stuffed Cabbage. It is an Eastern European dish that spans many ethnic cuisines and this version is based on my mom’s traditional Jewish Stuffed Cabbage Recipe aka “Prakas”.
I was wondering a bit about the name Prakas and after Googling it a bit, came across this fascinating article that asserts that calling stuffed cabbage “Prakas” originated in Yiddish speaking Jews who lived exclusively in Philadelphia, PA and Baltimore, MD.
That fits as my entire family is pretty much from Philadelphia, PA (after immigrating from various places in Eastern Europe a couple of generations ago).
Just like chicken soup, there are countless versions and variations on stuffed cabbage, this version is made with only clean ingredients and based on the one my mom grew up eating. I hope you love it!
What does your family call Stuffed Cabbage?
NOTES:
- Sour Salt is essentially Citric Acid. If you can’t find it, substitute 1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar.
- I used some cheesecloth and a silicone rubber band to make a “raisin packet” because that is what I had on hand. I also like to use these spice bags. I would NOT recommend a metal tea ball as the metal might react with the acid in the tomatoes and change the taste of the sauce.
- For those of you calculating Points Plus, these are 8 PP Each. If you don’t count vegetables (cabbage, onion, tomatoes, etc.), they are a bit less but the eTools Recipe Calculator adds in PP for those things when they are in a recipe.
- These freeze really well (covered in sauce) and are easy to reheat in the oven (325F till warmed through) or on the stove top (medium low light till warmed through).
- This batch makes approximately 16 Prakas which sounds like a lot but my husband can easily eat 2 or 3 at one sitting so figure 2 Per Person. I like to eat one with a huge salad and another side of vegetables.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Jewish Stuffed Cabbage. Prakas Recipe. Clean Ingredient Stuffed Cabbage Recipe.
- 2 large heads green cabbage about 2 pounds each, cores removed and blanched
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 medium lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup raisins wrapped in cheesecloth (see NOTES)
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sour salt see NOTES for substitution
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
- 3/4 cup uncooked white basmati rice
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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Put a very large pot of unsalted water on to boil. Use a paring knife to gently remove the core of the cabbage. This is easiest if you make a couple of slices around the core and then nudge it out with a butter knife or spoon. Take care not to damage or rip the leaves as you need them while for wrapping the Prakas.
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Finely chop yellow onion for both the sauce and meat mixture (I used the food processor to save time!)
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Place raisins in cheesecloth and secure with twine or a silicone rubber band.
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Measure rice, palm sugar, parsley, kosher salt, sour salt and black pepper.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, uncooked rice, 1/2 cup onion, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix until ingredients are incorporated.
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Once water is boiling, use a large slotted spoon or "
" to dunk the cabbage for 15 seconds at a time.
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Remove cabbage to a baking sheet or other large tray and gently peel off outer leaves. If you get resistance, dunk the cabbage back in the boiling water for another 15 seconds and try again. Repeat this until all the leaves are off. Take care not to rip any leaves and set aside the very small inner leaves for sauteing, stir-fry or another use.
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Grab a paring knife and gently shave the outer rib off of each leaf, taking care not to slice through. You just want to take enough off so that the leaves are easy to roll.
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Heat a large (oven safe) dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and then 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes, until onions are soft and starting to brown.
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Add tomatoes, juice from 1/2 lemon, palm sugar, kosher salt, sour salt, black pepper and raisin pouch.
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Bring to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer and leave simmering while you begin stuffing the cabbage leaves.
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Preheat the oven to 350F. Place one cabbage leaf on a flat surface and measure 1/3 cup of the ground beef mixture out.
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Fold up the bottom, pushing the beef mixture down and making somewhat of a tight "packet". Next, fold each side down and then roll the cabbage closed.
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Some leaves will be short enough that they will just sit underneath the cabbage roll and others will be too long and need to be tucked in.
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Repeat until all of the meat mixture is gone. You should have approximately (depending on size of cabbage leaves) 16 cabbage rolls.
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Gently place each cabbage roll in sauce, try to keep the seams on the bottom and make sure they are all submerged in the sauce so they cook evenly.
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Cover and place in the oven for 90 minutes. Remove from oven, remove raisin packet, adjust salt and pepper if necessary, serve and Enjoy!
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Hi. I live in Melbourne, Australia and my grandparents came from Minsk in Russia in the 1890s to Australia via Rishon Letzion.
It was always referred to in our family as Prakas, but my wife and most of our friends families came from Poland and had never heard the name.
So the name originated in Russia, not USA !
And I’m delighted that other Jews grew up with that name too !!
I just made some for dinner after a long absence !!
Thanks Adrian – I love hearing this – makes it all come together 🙂
My Mom made them for my Dad. We loved them. A little sweet & sour… no raisins, no rice… more like meatballs (tho I i fact DO put raisins in my meatballs)…
They called them Praakes
My grandmother’s family came from a shtetl in the Pale of the Settlement (around Kyiv), settled and married my grandfather who was from the little village of Sokolifke, also near Kyiv. They met and settled in Philly and she was 16 when they married. They referred to Russia as ‘The Old Country’ and I would sit at their knee and listen to the stories. They left the chaos and poverty of Russia as lone teen agers traveling to Di Goldene Medine (The Golden Land) knowing not a word of English and having some vague understanding that somewhere in New York was maybe a cousin they could find. What staggering courage! Stuffed cabbage was ‘Prakas’ and was never referred to by any other name, and also was a staple of the holiday dinner, though this dish was certainly not confined to holidays. Among the ingredients of the sauce was “wee-eight”, my grandmother’s pronunciation of the tomato based vegetable juice V-8. Every dinner had 3 or 4 main courses (brisket, roast chicken, prakas, kakleten – a Jewish version roughly (very roughly) resembling Salisbury steak though evewn today I shudder to use both those titles in the same sentence. Oy, it’s a shandah! 70 years later I can still smell the fresh challah, still feel the presence of family at the dining room table, in the fullness of the American dream. And yes, prakas still make the not infrequent appearance on our 21st century table, (mit raisins or mit ot) and my wife or I make them by the literal dozens for distribution to friends and family, freezing the leftover ones (also dozens) for future use. Is it not a wonderful evocation of our shared history that food retains the power to ‘take us back.’ – despite Thomas Wolfe’s declaration to the contrary.
Hi Richard! I love hearing these beautiful memories and how they are connected to Prakas. Thank you for taking the time to share!!! And what lucky friends and family you have to be recipients of dozes of extra Prakas!!
My family called them Prakas (pronounced “Pra-kis”) in my grandparents’ home in Minneapolis; my grnadfather was born in Bessarabia, not far from Odessa.
So interesting John!
This recipe is very similar to my grandmother’s rolled cabbage. We always called them prakes (praakes, praches–your pick on spelling–though most folks have no idea what we are talking about). She was born outside of Boston to parents who immigrated from Ukraine via England). She lived in New York City most of her adult life. In 2009 my parents and we took a river cruise in Ukraine, and one of the dishes we were served was tomato-based rolled cabbage’ after one bite, my father and I looked at each other and agreed it was cut from the same cloth as his mother’s recipe. I have made the recipe several times (I’m the only one of the grandchildren has made it), but omit the raisins. I do use citric acid, though, as did my grandmother. Excellent.
Sounds right to me Steve – we also have ancestry in Ukraine!
I was also wondering about the origin of the word prakas. While my family lived in philly since 1890’s, I have lived in other places and now live outside NYC in Teaneck NJ. Most other people who speak Yiddish are not acquainted with the term “prakas”. Interesting enough, I once worked with guy who was sefardic turkish/greek. He had a stuffed grape leaves dish call Yprakas. So maybe there’s a sefardic connection. And since people in England also seem to call them prakas the connection could be hundreds or thousands of years ago.
That is super interesting!!
This is exactly like my grandmother’s.she was a Lithuanian Jew. I’m pretty sure Prakash is the Lithuanian name bc I’ve also had other ashkenazi Jews have no idea what I’m talking about when I say prakas.
It’s gotta be litvak.
Hi Emily, My family has roots from Lithuania as well!!
My mum has Jewish lithuanian roots and was born in South Africa. I grew up in a Jewish household in Australia with Ashkenazi roots on both sides. Mum always called them Prakas so I think it’s more likely that it’s come from Eastern Europe and not specific to any American states
Hi Amanda! That is so fascinating – I love hearing about all of the connections 🙂