Been having jaggery since childhood...
...but never knew how & where it was made.
This looks like a really fascinating & magical place.
Assalam-o-Alaikum my name is Zia Tabarak
And it's beautiful sunny winter morning in Peshawar.
It sunny & breezy right now
And today we'll be going to Charsadda.
We'll check out the Sugarcane Jaggery & how it's made there.
And we'll try out Charsadda's famous rice as well.
Also there's a nice Fish place along the river coast as well.
And all these places were recommended by Sajjad Aman.
His channel is "Aman Travel & Food"
His channel's link is in the description.
You can check out Peshawar's amazing food on his channel.
Right now we'll start our journey & explore Charsadda.
Chalain! (Let's Go!)
Charsadda's main crop is Sugarcane.
Swabi's main crop is Tobacco.
And Mardan's main crops are Tobacco & Sugarcane both.
Swabi's Sugarcane isn't as sweet as Charsadda's.
You can see all these Sugarcane farms as we enter Charsadda.
This is where all the Sugarcane is kept.
This is where all the sugarcane is cut & it's juice is extracted.
And then it's converted into Jaggery.
And right there are the apiaries for honey.
We'll now go inside & see how Jaggery is made...
...and take you along with us.
It's an amazing setup inside here.
This Karahi's so big.
I've never seen a Karahi so big.
They've just extracted this juice...
... and now they'll evaporate all the water.
After this they'll make jaggery from it.
Let me show you the machine that extracts the juice.
That right there.
Ok that's the machine.
They put the Sugarcane from outside & the juice comes out of the other side.
It moves forward through this pipe.
It all comes here and gets cooked.
And all the germs & bacteria gets killed when it's cooked.
It's a local setup & everything is being made in a Desi style here.
I've been having it since childhood...
...but never knew how & where it's made.
Now I'm experiencing this process myself.
This looks like a really fascinating & magical place.
Because it's a village it feels like I'm in a fairy tale...
...because all these things are very unique for me.
I'll strip this off first.
My teeth are not that strong...
...but having it raw is a one-of-a-kind thing.
Let's try it out.
Fresh Sugarcane...
...and he stripped it for us so thank you so much.
This can now be cut into slices.
I'm from the city so it's a bit difficult for me.
That's why they stripped it for us.
This is nice!
All this Sugarcane is used up.
This is all what's left after the juice is extracted.
The fire for the Karahi inside is lit by these used Sugarcanes.
They add the used up Sugarcane from here and it keeps the fire burning.
This Jaggery is now ready.
Most of it's water is evaporated.
And now they're taking it out.
Just smell its aroma.
Yeah this jaggery smell so nice.
And now it'll cool down.
It's an experience that can't be explained in words.
Can I move this?
[Asks him in Pashto]
Do I move it like this?
Alright so I'm making it now.
So I have to move it with force.
Is this ok? Yes it is.
What did he say? He said just don't fall inside.
It's very thick & it looks easy but it's not.
Your today's work is done.
Here it'll cool down.
It's now cooled down & crystalized.
That's a different process.
It's now glued to this cane.
How will they take it off?
This? They'll eat it.
It will be like Patisa (Soan Papdi).
They're pouring more juice in it.
Fresh Sugarcane juice...
...has been poured again in this giant karahi.
All it's water will evapoate here.
And it will be cooled down there.
And they're pouring all the sugarcane juice here.
So this is the Jaggery they had wrapped on that cane.
This is amazing.
And it feels just like toffee.
It's bit a sticky because it's really fresh.
As you can see it looks just like toffee.
It feels like sugarcane juice is dripping in my mouth.
Really good & amazing.
It's now cooled & really thick.
How should I eat it? Like the sugarcane?
It's not completely cooled yet.
After it cools down just have it like a Patisa from top & spit out the sugarcane.
It has started to look like Jaggery now after cooling down.
It's now forming into Jaggery.
They're now adding peanuts too.
They sometimes add peanuts in it as well.
We do Almonds and a few other dry fruits too...
...and Walnuts.
Walnuts. Yes. Walnuts taste better.
So right now they're adding peanuts? Yes.
This is a scented flavor they have added in it.
This is basically Ginger Powder.
And now this will dry out.
They're making a special sweet dish for us.
I hope that you like it.
Yeah it looks good I'm sure it'll be great.
They're now making Chikki.
It's still a bit warm. You can see it steaming right now.
That's why they wet their hands first & then make these.
You can make it perfectly with dry hands.
They're almost ready with Peanuts & Copra.
It's an amazing sweet.
Right here they're making it with nuts.
And this is plain jaggery
They'll make round balls of it & then let it dry.
And then it'll be shipped to markets.
First it's weighed here then it's sent to the market.
And this is the Jaggery right here.
This is how Jaggery is made.
This is now ready so let's taste it.
So soft & delicious. And the peanuts & perfectly roasted.
And the Copra too......tastes very good with it
This is so good that you'll keep wanting more.
Really nice.
So right along this Sugarcane farm there are these trees here.
I thought that these were Oranges but these are Tangerines.
Tangerines are used in Kebabs like lemons.
And they use it in Sugarcane juice to enhance its taste.
These are all tangerines here...
...all over this place
Few of them fell down.
No one's picking them up.
Just check this out.
So this is sugarcane juice that he just extracted...
...and squeezed this tangerine in it.
This is the juice & this is the tangerine I took from the farm.
Pure Sugarcane juice with Tangerine. Let's try it out.
It tastes like I'm having both Sugarcane & Tangerine Juice.
A nice combination of Sugarcane juice & Tangerine.
It tastes amazing!
First we had Jaggery here, then we tried out this Juice...
...and also we tried it out fresh like toffee.
And all these things were delicious because they were fresh.
And it's an unforgettable experience.
Amazing.
So this concludes part 1 of Charsadda tour.
In the next part we'll be going to the Apiaries near the farm.
We will taste Charsadda's special rice..
...and we'll try out the famous fish of River Kabul.
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I'll see you all in the next episode.
Allah Hafiz!
