Lokma is a dessert made of leavened and deep fried dough balls, soaked in syrup or honey, sometimes coated with cinnamon or other ingredients.

[2] The recipe for Luqmat al-Qadi, yeast-leavened dough boiled in oil and doused in honey or sugar syrup with rosewater, dates back to at least the early medieval period and the 13th-century Abbasid Caliphate, where it is mentioned in several of the existent cookery books of the time.

[2][4] The explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta in the 14th century encountered the dish he knew as Luqaymat al-Qadi at a dinner in Multan, during his travels in medieval India, where his hosts called it al-Hashimi.

While in Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, lugaimat, sometimes spiced with cardamom or saffron, are little changed from the 13th-century recipes,[4] in parts of the Middle East they may also be called awameh (عوامة), meaning "floater", or zalabya (زلابيا), with numerous spelling variations, though the latter term may also refer to a similar dish made in a long spiral or straight baton shape.

The dish called loukoumádes (λουκουμάδες) is a mainstay of Greek cooking, in particular in the south of Greece, and is a popular street food served with any combination of honey, cinnamon, walnuts and chocolate sauce.

[12] This treat continued to be popular in the Byzantine era, particularly during Lent, as the absence of dairy or meat meant that it met the requirements of Orthodox fasting (Greek: νήστεις, nēsteis).

As a sweet treat made with only flour, yeast and water, and sweetened with honey, they met the requirements of Orthodox fasting and were also popular in monasteries.

[27] Traditionally, forty days after someone passes away, close relatives and friends of the deceased cook large quantities of lokma for neighbours and passersby.