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!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
My maternal grandmother spoke pretty much nothing but Yiddish her entire life. My mom was the youngest, and the only one born in the USA, in Philadelphia. I was also born there. We called them, and I still call them, prakas. Mine use golden raisins, which I leave in the sauce, as well as crushed gingersnaps. Sour salt, vinegar, and/or lemon juice, in some combination, to offset the sweetness with some sour. I ADORE these things. I don’t use but one egg, though, as I don’t like the filling to be too dense.
Hi was wondering if you can substitute regular sugar for coconut palm sugar and can I substitute jasmine rice for basmati since I have a lot of that. Thank you
I’m from Hackney in east London, England and we always called them prakas – so it’s not a Philly word at all I don’t think.
Really used to love them too
Can not wait to try it! My baba made this every year for my birthday until my 10th. Her cancer returned when I was 9 and we lost her battle to it when I was 12. She promised to write it done for me but her battle was not an easy one. I can not wait to make it and share with my family, especially her two great granddaughters whom are named in her memory.
I’m so sorry for your loss Katherine. I hope this dish helps to recall all of those wonderful memories you shared together <3
Every winter my grandmother and mother would spend an entire day making prakas. Pots of meat prakas and pots of rice prakas. Tins of prakas would be put in the freezer and over time we ate them. It is one of my favorite memories. Mom mom Sima’s prakas. They were absolutely delicious. I too grew up in Philadelphia and my grandmother’s parents were from Poland.
Hi Aileen, What a beautiful memory! Next time I make these, I am going to double and stash some in my freezer. Such a great idea 🙂
So happy I found this! My mom called it Prakas. Our family is from Philadelphia. She was never big on sweet and sour so her version was always very savory. She passed away two years ago. I’m going to make this dish this winter and think of her.
Hi Jules! I soo hope you and your family love this recipe – please come back and let me know <3
I grew up in Philly in the 60s and 70s and we ate prakas with the ginger snaps, etc. it seems to me that my mother kept the recipe in a bag with newspaper clipped recipes,and I’d bet it was from the Jewish exponent, the local Jewish newspaper.
I bet you are right Sharon!
Hi I also grew up in phila in the 70’s. Unfortunately my mom can no longer remembers how to make Prakas. She use to make it with ginger snaps too! Can you share your recipes?
Hi Stacy! Do you mean the recipe with the gingersnaps?
I grew up in Brooklyn and never heard the word Prakas, but my aunt used to make sweet and sour stuffed cabbage that was probably based on her mother’s recipe from Galicia (today’s Ukraine.). She gave me a very basic recipe many years ago (I’m now 75) but it didn’t include raisins or ginger snaps. Earlier today while grocery shopping, I had an urge to make the dish but was curious to see other recipes. I came upon this site through a google search. It’s so interesting to see different versions. By the way, I currently live in an area with many Polish people who call it golabki, but the Yiddish name varied based on geography. There’s an interesting article about it in the following link.
https://forward.com/culture/13845/philadelphia-prakas-02245/
I am sure that there are as many versions as there are variations of chicken soup! Love this article – thanks!
My mother called in Prakas and I assumed that was the standard Yiddish word for it. But we did live in Philadelphia for 4 years (my mother especially loved it there) and maybe that’s where she learned to make it.
Thank you so much for the recipe. It seems like it’s very similar to my mother’s — but raisins were right in her sauce. That might be because my mother didn’t love to cook and probably never had cheesecloth around.
I’ll be trying this out soon!
I hope you loved it Marti!!!
could i do this in the slow cooker
Yes – that should work but you may need to reduce some of the liquid as none of it will reduce or cook off in the slow cooker like it does in the oven