CHARSADDA: The sale of traditional sweets of Rajjar is on its peak as people from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have thronged Rajjar Bazaar in Charsadda to buy the delicious treat for Eidul Fitr.

Locally known as Rajjar Mithai, the sweets is famous all over the country and abroad for its delicious taste.

People serve it to their guests and relatives at various festive occasions including Eid and wedding.

The local people also send the sweets as a gift to their friends and relatives, living in other parts of the country as well as abroad.

A cluster of shops at Rajjar Bazaar, some one kilometre north of Charsadda City, has now turned into a sweets market. The historic market was run by Hindus before Partition. A great rush of customers can be witnessed at the market ahead of Eidul Fitr.

During a visit to the market, people were seen standing in queues in front of the sweet shops to wait for their turn to buy the traditional sweets.

Riaz Ahmed, a customer, told Dawn that Rajjar Mithai was an essential part of meal course on special occasions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Either it is Eid, a wedding ceremony or other pleasant occasion, the guests always demand Rajjar Mithai,” he said.

Mr Ahmed said that Rajjar Methai was presented to guests in each house and hujra (male guest house) in their town on Eid. “If people in cities present vermicelli, rice and other foods to their guests on Eid, in the villages they are served with Rajjar Mithai,” he added.

Said Akbar Khan, a salesman at the market, said that apart from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and several Middle Eastern countries, people sent Rajjar sweets to America, Briton and other western countries as a gift for their friends and relatives.

To avoid standing in queues for buying the sweets, people placed their orders in advance, the salesman said.

“Rajjar Mithai is sold in bakery shops in different areas of the country. A large number of traders from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab place their orders with us,” he said.

Haji Ashrafud Din, a famous baker in Rajjar Bazaar, said he had inherited the business from his father Israrud Din alias Chacha Halwai. He said that formula of the product was very simple.

“The ingredients include Desi ghee, sugar, white flour and water. No item, which is injurious to health, is used in it. The taste and smell of Rajjar sweets last for several months,” he said.

Local people said that Rajjar Mithai got fame before independence of the country. Chacha Halwai for the first time made the sweets in 1930 at Baba Ji Dag in Rajjar during British era. The British rulers and Hindu people residing in Charsadda also liked the delicious sweets and sent it as gift to their relatives and friends.

They said that a Bhatti (bakery oven) built by Chacha Halwai still existed in the market and was used for the purpose. The motorists and passengers stop at Rajjar Bazaar Chowk to buy the sweets the roadside shops.

Published in Dawn, July 25th , 2014