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
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.
- Finely chop yellow onion for both the sauce and meat mixture (I used the food processor to save time!)
- Place raisins in cheesecloth and secure with twine or a silicone rubber band.
Measure rice, palm sugar, parsley, kosher salt, sour salt and black pepper.
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.
Once water is boiling, use a large slotted spoon or "
" to dunk the cabbage for 15 seconds at a time.
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.
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.
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.
Add tomatoes, juice from 1/2 lemon, palm sugar, kosher salt, sour salt, black pepper and raisin pouch.
Bring to a boil, cover, lower to a simmer and leave simmering while you begin stuffing the cabbage leaves.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place one cabbage leaf on a flat surface and measure 1/3 cup of the ground beef mixture out.
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.
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.
- Repeat until all of the meat mixture is gone. You should have approximately (depending on size of cabbage leaves) 16 cabbage rolls.
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.
- 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.
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
My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from the Ukraine. Growing up they were called stuffed cabbage or holishkes. My mother died before I could get the recipe and according to my mother there really was no recipe because you cooked it “by feel”. However, everything in this recipe looks very similar except raisins which my bubby and mom thought was sacrilegious to the cabbage rolls and she cooked it on the stove. I also remember her saying the same thing about the sour salt at the end. Either way they’re simmering away now and hopefully I’ll have a wonderful culinary flashback tonight to my childhood holiday dinners. Only thing missing is a nice challah loaf but a baguette will more then suffice. Thank you for the recipe
Hi! I missed this before and just smiled so big reading it. How did the Prakas come out? I hope it tasted like home!
Pretty darn close! They were delicious. I will add an extra 28 oz can of water or two so it makes more of a cabbage soup. Can’t thank you enough! Oh, and btw, the baguette was just as good if not better. Now I’m hungry. We have an extra pan frozen in the freezer. Hmmm…….
Good to hear! And, a good baguette is the perfect partner for sure!!! <3
We called it Prakas in Minnesota. My grandmother was from Romania.
YES!!! 🙂
We called it prakas in CincinnatiP
Perfect! Then this is exactly what you are looking for!
Also from Philly, I make a mean Prakas …no ginger snaps and no raisins..but carrots and whole tomatoes also in the sauce and instead of chopped onion, I use a whole onion stuck with about 4 cloves..(nice back note of flavor) I cook mine stove top for about 1 1/2 hours. My mother told me not to put the sour salt in until the end because she said it toughened the meat. Also, don’t waste the cabbage..chunk it up in the sauce.
My daughter makes a deconstructed version…same ingredients but not rolled.
I’m 83 years old and I learned from my mother who made it the way her mother did.
Hi Portia!! Love the idea of the cloves in the onion and I’ll try that with the sour salt just to compare. Thanks 🙂
You should try my cabbage borscht (sauerkraut soup)..
Pretty much the same taste as the Prakas, in soup. When you think about Russia in the winter, it was really all the food they had..cabbage, carrots, onions, beets and any food that could store..even now on a snowy day it is a soup you can make with probably what you have..do you want the recipe?
Portia I would LOVE the recipe! Would you email it to me? [email protected]
I am from Philly & I never knew there was another name for Prakas. I live in Orlando & no here knows or has heard of Prakas. I am Jewish (74 yrs.)& my mother never told me it was called Stuffed Cabbage. I wonder why, only in Philly.
My grandmother used the term prakas too when making stuffed cabbage. We lived in Columbus, Ohio. I think her parents were from Poland.
I don’t boil the cabbage anymore. I simply a head in the freezer wrapped in freezer wrap for 24 hours. When you defrost it the leaves separate really easily. I learned this trick from a Jewish cookbook.
What a great tip – I’ll have to try the freezing method next time!
Thank you for getting me started on the linguistic and culinary heritage. The olfactory, gustatory, visual, and tactile memories in my head come from my grandmother’s family of German-speaking Jews who settled in Philadelphia from the town of Rogasen (Rogozno), now in Poland; historically, the town appears to have flipped back and forth between Germanic and Polish hands over the centuries.
You’ve pretty much got the right flavor, except, like the other reader, I must insist, after much experimentation, that the raisin packet come out and a dozen ginger snaps go in. I use Stauffer’s (Nabisco is too sweet and not gingery enough). That ginger flavor is key, and the cookies add a certain body and sheen to the sauce. I use all rice and skip the meat — cooking 2 cups seems to match the egg, onion, salt, and parsley amounts you have here for the filling. Brown sugar (what my grandma always used) can be used instead of the coconut palm sugar, for ease of obtaining ingredients. Your vinegar replacement amount for the sour salt is on target (1/3 cup) for the right sweet-sour blend with, the juice of half a lemon, 1 cup of brown sugar, and a dozen ginger snaps with the 3 x 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes.
We all have our own food memories we have to get just “right” to pass on to the next generation. Thanks and kudos for your efforts, research, and posting this!
My mom also used to put those same ginger snaps (and also in her sweet and sour meatballs). How fun! Thanks for the comments 🙂
They look so wonderful and flavourful. Great recipe!
Do you think ground turkey will work for this as well?
I tend to use that product rather than beef more often.
Yes but I would use dark meat ground turkey so it’s not dry!
I actually don’t think I’ve ever had stuffed cabbage so I wouldn’t know what to call it! Other than stuffed cabbage lol. Definitely looks like comfort food to me!
The Polish call them golabki, pronounced gwumpki. One of my faves. Yum!
Thanks Dawn 🙂
Allyssa-
I think my mom used Nabisco or something like that.
As a cookie they aren’t particularly good but cooked in the tomato sauce they spice it up just right. As I remember they
are very hard-not like homemade ginger snaps.
I think I’m going to make it tomorrow since I have the day off.
Enjoy it Tobie! 🙂
Alyssa,
Your step by step photos really help me with the tricky bit about making the cabbages leaves into rollable . . . leaves.
The photo of the core, though, I could just picture my pig seeing that and saying ‘om nom nom’ as she’s a huge cabbage core fan.
Thanks for your hard work to make this recipe look accessible for me!
Not only in my life have I never made Prakas…I have never even had them! Going on the “must-try” list. I wonder who could teach me to make them……hmmmmmm
🙂
This is pretty close to my mom’s recipe except that in place of sour salt she would use ginger snaps. I just got a large cabbage in my box from the TSA and this is inspiring me.
Must get the ginger snaps!
Tobie – my mom also used to use the gingersnaps!!! She stopped many years ago but she used to use the ones on the orange and black box – swiflers or something like that. too funny!
SWEETZELS-From Philadelphia!
YES!!!!!!
Alyssa, this sounds fabulous! We love stuffed cabbage. So cool that you can trace some family history, too! Dishes like this get better with time, too, so freezing is a great idea.
It’s true Hannah, this is the kind of dish I like to make in advance and just reheat to serve!
This dish looks delicious! It reminds me of a similar Lebanese stuffed cabbage dish my Grandma makes. So yummy and comforting!
I would need 2 – 3 cabbage rolls please, 1 is just not enough.
A question: why so much sugar? 1 cup coconut palm sugar seems like a lot.
Hi Norma!
The sauce is supposed to be sweet and sour (hence the sugar and sour salt). 1 Cup does sound like a lot but there are a lot of tomatoes and it needs it for balance.
I was raised calling stuffed cabbage golabki (go-wump-key) too, but for many years my non-Polish husband jokingly referred to this family favorite as “bumpkeys ” and that also stuck.
This is one of those dishes I’ve eaten before, but never made. Why not I don’t know – the flavor is wonderful. Yours look particularly good – thannks.
We call it golabki, pronounced go-wump-key. I want to try to make it with ground chicken instead of beef or pork for my girlfriend.
I have heard of Golabkis before but never knew the spelling – thanks! If you make this with ground chicken, use ground thigh or dark meat!