Corncob baked in traditional way a popular snack among people of all ages.

PESHAWAR -- The ravishing aroma of the freshly baked maize corn is waft everywhere in busy Sheikhabad locality of city area, diverting attention of the passer-bys towards the snack favorite among people of all ages besides increasing their appetite for nibbling on the corn cob.

The curiosity for finding out location from where the whiff of baked corns is emitting will lead one to a place to witness unique experience of roasting of maize through a traditional way of burying the cob in searing sand.

A number of furnaces are established at Sheikhabad locality near historic Lahori gate of city wall where maize corn are baked through a primitive method of burying the corncob in a blazing sand for roasting.

The corncobs are arranged in standing order within a wooden hand carts which are pushed by the owner towards proximity of a burning furnace full of sand.

The searing sand is taken out by the controller of furnace through spade and put on maize corns arranged in the hand cart unless the whole cart is covered.

A rug made of thick cloth is spread over the cart to keep the sand hot for maximum time and owners wait for 40 minutes to one hour after which the delicious corn on the cob are ready to the presented to customers for eating.

In each furnace around 15 to 20 hand carts were parked waiting for their turn for filling of hot sand.

'We pay Rs. 500 for filling of each hand cart with hot sand and after selling of baked corns the sand is returned back to furnace owner in the evening for reusing,' informed Khaista Khan, a hand cart owner.

He said around two to three hundred maize corns are arranged in a push cart and each one is sold at price ranging from Rs. 20 to 30, depending on size of the corn.

Maize corns are liked by people of all ages, Khaista told reporter when asked...