This recipe is my grandma's. She made this in her hotel in the Catskill Mountains. It is a treasured family favorite. I serve it with mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- uncooked white rice: 0.66667 cup
- water: 1 cup
- heads cabbage, cored: 2 piece
- ground beef chuck: 3 pound
- eggs: 2 piece
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder: 1 piece
- salt and pepper: (to taste)
- ketchup: 0.5 cup
- onion: 1 piece (sliced)
- tomatoes: 3 cans (28 ounce cans, crushed)
- raisins: 0.5 cup
- citric acid powder: 1 tsp
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder: 1 piece
- salt and pepper: (to taste)
- ketchup: 0.5 cup
- white sugar: 0.5 cup (optional)
- ketchup: 1 cup
- white sugar: 0.5 cup (to taste, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
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Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Boil the heads of cabbage, one at a time, until softened but still firm, about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes.
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Combine the ground beef, eggs, cooked rice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup ketchup in a bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined.
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Prepare the cabbage leaves by shaving a slice off of the large vein in the center of the leaves so they'll be easier to roll. Place a heaping spoonful of the filling in the center of the leaf. Fold in the left and right edges and roll up the leaf from the bottom, forming a tight cylinder. Secure with toothpicks if necessary. Continue filling and rolling the leaves; save the smaller cabbage leaves and set them aside.
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Chop the reserved cabbage leaves. Place the chopped cabbage in a large pot. Add the sliced onion, crushed tomatoes, raisins, sour salt (citric acid powder), salt and pepper, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder. Stir in 1/2 cup of white sugar and bring the mixture to a boil.
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Taste the sauce and adjust the sweetness, if desired, by adding the additional 1/2 cup of sugar. Place the cabbage rolls into the sauce. Pour the remaining 1 cup of ketchup on top of the rolls. Cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a simmer.
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Cook the rolls for 3 hours, basting the rolls every half hour.