CHARSADDA: Traditional Rajjar Mithai (dessert) is selling like a hot cake in Charsadda as a popular Eid treat.

Consumers were seen waiting in long queues for their turn outside confectionery shops in the Rajjar Bazaar here to buy the delicacy, which is a specialty of Charsadda.

The crispy, golden brown Rajjar sweet, which is made of gur (jaggery), refined wheat flour, yoghurt and baking soda, has started attracting sweet lovers in droves from across the country ahead of Eidul Fitr.

The special baking process gives the sweet its unique flavour, longevity and delicacy.

Sweet makers in Rajjar area told Dawn that around 70,000 people were directly or indirectly linked with the business. They said they get orders from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir several days before Eid. Rajjar Mithai also exported to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, US and UK.

Thousands of people from Charsadda, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Swat, Malakand, Khyber, Swabi etc visit Rajjar, a small town of Charsadda district, to buy the delicacy on the festive occasions like Eid, birthdays and weddings.

The people also offer this as gift to guests, friends and relatives on special occasions.

Raza Khan, a customer at a confectionery shop in Rajjar Bazaar, told Dawn that he preferred to buy Rajjar Mithai because its price was affordable.

He said poor people purchased the dessert due to its low price and best quality as compared to other confectionaries. He said that Rajjar Mithai maintained its quality for about 20 days.

Yaqoob Khan told Dawn that his grandfather, Chacha Israruddin, started preparing popular Rajjar Mithai in 1930s. He said no chemical and sugar were used in it.

A customer from Lower Dir said people loved to buy and eat Rajjar dessert due to its quality and better taste and affordable price.

He said he came to Charsadda to buy Rajjar Mithai because his family members and friends liked this. He said they also offered the dessert to their guests.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2024