Palestinian cuisine a variety of leaf vegetables, primarily grape leaves, cabbage leaves and less often chard. "Mahshi" requires delicacy and time—the main reason it is prepared before the day it is cooked and served. Many female family members participate in the rolling and stuffing of the vegetables, relaxing the amount of individual effort required, with great attention to detail. "Waraq Dawali" (stuffed grape leaves), is a "mahshi" meal reserved for large gatherings. The grape leaves are normally wrapped around minced meat, white rice and diced tomatoes, however meat is not always used. Dawali is an excellent representation of the attention to detail
Cabbage roll omitted or substituted with crushed walnuts on fasting holy days. Traditionally cabbage rolls are simmered long in a paprika based sauce with chunks of smoked bacon. In the Levant, namely Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, cabbage rolls are called محشي ملفوف Malfoof mahshi. Traditionally the cabbage rolls consist of meat and rice but have vegetarian variants oftentimes cooked as part of a Lenten menu. Local traditions vary between cooking the rolls in a tomato sauce or in a lemon brine. In Egyptian cuisine, cabbage rolls are called محشي كرمب, pronounced "maḥshī kromb" or "maḥshī koronb" (as Standard Arabic [m] often