Lokma

{{Short description|Deep-fried dough pastries}} {{Infobox food | name = Lokma | image = Sam'dan lokma tatlisi.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | alternate_name = Loukoumas, loukoumades, luqma crispella<ref name=Marks>{{cite book |last=Marks |first=Gil |title=The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |date=17 November 2010 |isbn=9780544186316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1136}}</ref> | country = Mesopotamia | region = | creator = | type = Fried dough | served = | main_ingredient = Yeast-leavened dough, oil, sugar syrup or honey | variations = Zalabiyeh Owaymat Enkrides | calories = | other = }}

'''Lokma''' is a dessert made of leavened and deep-fried dough balls, soaked in syrup or honey, sometimes coated with cinnamon or other ingredients. The dish was described as early as the 13th century by al-Baghdadi as ''luqmat al-qādi'' ({{Lang|ar|لُقْمَةُ ٱلْقَاضِيِ}}), "judge's morsels".<ref name="Davidson 2014">{{cite book|first1=Alan|last1=Davidson|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA424|pages=424–425 |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=21 August 2014|isbn=9780191040726|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>Charles Perry, ''A Baghdad Cookery Book'', 2006. {{ISBN|1-903018-42-0}}.</ref><ref name="Salloum 2013">{{cite book|first1=Habeeb|last1=Salloum|title=Sweet Delights from a Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets|pages=49–52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=if5fAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|publisher=I.B.Tauris|date=25 June 2013|isbn=9780857733412|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Etymology== The Arabic word {{Transliteration|ar|luqma}} ({{lang|ar|لُقْمَةٌ}}) (plural {{Transliteration|ar|luqmāt}}), means ''morsel'', ''mouthful'', or ''bite''.<ref name="Kélékian 1911">{{cite book|first1=Diran|last1=Kélékian|title=Dictionnaire Turc-Français|language=fr|url=http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/ssg/content/pageview/821883|publisher=Mihran|date=1911}}</ref><ref name="Nişanyan">{{cite web |title=lokma |url=https://hayrathayirlokmasi.com.tr |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=Hayrat Hayır Lokması |language=tr}}</ref> The dish was known as {{Transliteration|ar|luqmat al-qādi}} ({{Lang|ar|لُقْمَةُ ٱلْقَاضِيِ}}) or "judge's morsels" in 13th-century Arabic cookery books,<ref name="Davidson 2014"/> and the word ''luqma'' or ''loqma'' by itself has come to refer to it.<ref name="Kélékian 1911"/> The Turkish name for the dish, {{lang|tr|lokma}}, is derived from the Arabic,<ref name="Nişanyan"/> as is the Greek name {{Transliteration|el|loukoumádes}} ({{Lang|el|λουκουμάδες}}).<ref name="Davidson 2014"/>[[File:Loukoumades Greek Doughnuts with Walnuts and Honey.jpg|thumb|Greek ''loukoumádes'' served at a pub in Melbourne, Australia]] == Preparation == [[File:Lokma in İzmir.jpg|thumb|Doughnut-shaped ''lokma'' in İzmir, Turkey]] The thick and smooth yeast batter rises and has a very soft and foamy consistency. The batter is usually dropped into hot oil and fried to a golden brown color, but some are doughnut-shaped. Lokma are served with honey and, occasionally, cinnamon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/greek-honey-balls-loukoumades|title=Greek honey balls (loukoumades)|date=8 July 2010 }}</ref>

Traditionally, the batter was leavened with yeast but modern variations sometimes use baking powder.<ref name="Kalla 2019">{{cite book|first1=Joudie|last1=Kalla|title=Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother's Kitchen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXWxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203|publisher=White Lion Publishing|date=17 September 2019|isbn=978-0-7112-4528-0|via=Google Books}}</ref>

== Regional varieties and their histories ==

===Arab countries=== 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 known cookery books of the time. It is also mentioned in the ''One Thousand and One Nights'', in the story ''The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad''.<ref name="Davidson 2014" /><ref name="Salloum 2013" /> The explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta in the 14th century encountered the dish he knew as ''luqaymat al-qadi'' at a dinner in Multan (modern-day Pakistan) during his travels in medieval India, where his hosts called it ''al-hashimi''.<ref name="Salloum 2013" /> According to food historian Gil Marks, Arab and Ottoman empires contributed to the spread lokma.<ref name="Marks" />{{rp|1158-1162}}[[File:Lugaimat Riyadh 2024.jpg|thumb|Lugaimat with sesame toppings sold in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia]]

Today, in Iraq, it is called ''lokma'' or ''luqaymat'' (diminutive plural of ''luqma'' lit. 'small bites'), and they differ both in size and taste across the country. While in Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, ''lugaimat'', sometimes spiced with cardamom or saffron, are little changed from the 13th-century recipes,<ref name="Salloum 2013"/> in parts of the Middle East they may also be called '''{{Transliteration|ar|awameh}}''' ({{lang|ar|عوامة}}), meaning "floater", or '''{{Transliteration|ar|zalabya}}''' ({{lang|ar|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.<ref name="Krondl 2014">{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Krondl|title=The Donut: History, Recipes, and Lore from Boston to Berlin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwiAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|publisher=Chicago Review Press|date=1 June 2014|isbn=978-1-61374-670-7|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Goldstein 2015" >{{cite book|first=Charles|last=Perry|author-link=Charles Perry (food writer)|editor-first=Darra|editor-last=Goldstein|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbi6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA796|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Haroutunian 2014">{{cite book|first1=Arto der|last1=Haroutunian|title=Sweets & Desserts from the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cSIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT99|publisher=Grub Street Publishers|date=19 March 2014|isbn=978-1-909808-58-4|via=Google Books}}</ref> They are traditionally included in times of religious observances; for example in the Levant by Muslims at Ramadan, Jews at Hanukkah, and Christians at Epiphany alike.<ref name="Kalla 2019" /><ref name="Krondl 2014" /><ref name="Haroutunian 2014" />[[File:Turkish Cypriot pastries.jpg|thumb|Lokma sold at a pastry shop in Cyprus]] ===Greece and Cyprus=== The dish called {{Transliteration|el|loukoumádes}} ({{lang|el|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.

There is evidence that loukoumades originated from "enkrides", a dough fried in oil and eaten with honey in Ancient Greece.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=MEALS AND RECIPES FROM ANCIENT GREECE |url=https://www.calameo.com/read/0011463519ea800835cb0 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=calameo.com |language=en}}</ref> 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).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/34799?language=en |title=Feast, Fast or Famine: Food and Drink in Byzantium |date=2005-01-01 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-34485-3 |editor-last=Mayer |editor-first=Wendy |language=en |editor-last2=Trzcionka |editor-first2=Silke}}</ref>

References to deep fried donuts soaked in honey syrup, called "enkrides" (Greek: ἐγκρίς, plural ἐγκρίδες), are found in several Ancient Greek texts including works by Archestratus, Aeschylus, Steischorus, Epicharmus, Nikophon, Aristophanes and Pherecrates.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists, Book XIV., chapter 54 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0003:book=14:chapter=54 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rapp |first=Albert |date=1955 |title=The Father of Western Gastronomy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3293756 |journal=The Classical Journal |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=43–48 |jstor=3293756 |issn=0009-8353}}</ref> In ''The Deipnosophists'', Athenaeus describes enkrides as "cakes boiled in oil" and "seasoned in honey".<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Athenaeus: Deipnosophists - translation |url=https://www.attalus.org/info/athenaeus.html |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.attalus.org}}</ref>

Loukoumades have also been likened to "charisioi" (Ancient Greek: χᾰρῑ́σῐοι) .<ref name=":0" /> They were said to be given as prizes at ancient drinking games .<ref>{{Cite web |title=Athenaeus:Deipnosophists - Book 15 (668) |url=https://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus15a.html |access-date=20 September 2025 |website=www.attalus.orb}}</ref> Aristophanes and Eubulus both describe charisios as "grace" or "joy" cakes (from the Greek word χαρά meaning joy), eaten at nocturnal festivals called "pannichis" (Greek: Παννυχίς).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Athenaeus: Deipnosophists - Book 15 (a) |url=https://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus15a.html |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.attalus.org}}</ref> The recipe for charisios has not been recorded.

In the Byzantine period, enkrides, or loukoumades, were popular during Lent. 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.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=KOUKOULES |first=Phaidon I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjwbMwEACAAJ |title=Βυζαντινων Βιος Και Πολιτισμος. (Vie Et Civilisation Byzantines.) [With Plates.] Gr |date=1948 |language=en}}</ref> Along with halva, they are considered an example of the creative inventiveness of Orthodox Christians in this period.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

This term was also used by the Romaniotes (Greek Jews) as the name for loukoumades,<ref name="Marks 2010" /> who call them ''zvingoi'' ({{lang|el|σβίγγοι}}) and make them as Hanukkah treats.<ref name="Marks 2010">{{cite book|last1=Marks|first1=Gil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1921|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|date=17 November 2010|publisher=HMH|isbn=9780544186316|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ioanninajewishlegacy.com/IoanninaEL/relifeCalendarDescriptionEL.php |publisher=Canadian Embassy in Greece, The Jewish Museum of Greece, The City of Ioannina and the Jewish Community of Ioannina |work=Ioannina Jewish Legacy Project |title=Χάνουκα |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922162712/http://ioanninajewishlegacy.com/IoanninaEL/relifeCalendarDescriptionEL.php |archive-date=22 September 2015 |language=Greek}}</ref>

Pontic Greeks who migrated from the Black Sea as a result of the Lausanne Conference call them ''tsirichta'' ({{lang|el|τσιριχτά}}).<ref>{{cite web|date=October 19, 2012|title=Tsirichta|url=https://www.pontosnews.gr/262034/syntages/tsirichta/|publisher=Pontos News|language=Greek}}</ref>''Tsirichta'' are served at Pontian weddings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tsirichta, the Donuts of Pontus|url=https://www.trapezounta.gr/recipe/tsirichta/|website=Trapezounta}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=March 23, 2020|title=Tsirichta, the Pontian Loukoumades|url=https://www.lelevose.gr/tsirixta-oi-pontiakoi-loukoumades/|website=Lelevose}}</ref> The pastry is called {{Transliteration|el|loukoumádes}} ({{lang|el|λουκουμάδες}}) and {{Transliteration|el|lokmádes}} ({{lang|el|λοκμάδες}}) in Cypriot Greek. They are commonly served spiced with cinnamon in a honey syrup and can be sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-11-02 |title=Loukoumades (Greek donuts) |url=https://www.cyprusisland.net/cyprus-cuisine/sweets/loukoumades |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=Cyprus Island |language=en}}</ref>

===Turkey=== [[File:Lokma Galata Bridge.JPG|thumb|Lokma sold as street food near the Galata Bridge in Istanbul]] There are different types of lokma in Turkey. Dessert lokma are made with flour, sugar, yeast and salt, fried in oil and later bathed in syrup or honey. In some regions of Turkey lokma are eaten with cheese, similar to breakfast bagels.<ref name="Lokma (tatlı)-3">Geleneksel hayır lokması Nedir? [https://lokmaci.org.tr/ hayır lokması]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lokma tatlısı tarifi: Geleneksel lokma yapılışı ve malzemeleri… |url=https://hayirlokmasi.org/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=www.hayirlokmasi.org}}</ref> ''İzmir lokması'' are doughnut-shaped with a hole in the middle. The spherical one is called the palace lokma (Turkish: ''Saray lokması'').{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} In the Güdül-Ayaş regions of Ankara, there is a type of lokma known as ''bırtlak''.<ref name="Lokma (tatlı)-5">Pouring [https://lokmahayri.com/ Lokma] dessert for charity</ref>

Traditionally, forty days after someone dies, close relatives and friends of the deceased cook large quantities of lokma for neighbours and passersby. People form queues to get a plate and recite a prayer for the soul of the deceased after eating the lokma.

== See also == {{Portal|Middle East|Food}}<!-- New links in alphabetical order please --> *List of doughnuts *Bolinho de chuva *Kemal Pasha dessert *Boortsog *Unni appam *Puff-puff

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * A.D. Alderson and Fahir İz, ''The Concise Oxford Turkish Dictionary'', 1959. {{ISBN|0-19-864109-5}} * Γ. Μπαμπινιώτης (Babiniotis), Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens, 1998 {{Egyptian cuisine}}{{Cuisine of Turkey}} {{Cuisine of Egypt}} {{Cuisine of Lebanon}} {{Cuisine of Greece}} {{Cuisine of the Levant}} {{Doughnut}}

Category:Arab desserts Category:Egyptian desserts Category:Iraqi cuisine Category:Emirati desserts Category:Bahraini cuisine Category:Greek desserts Category:Kurdish cuisine Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine Category:Doughnuts Category:Jewish cuisine Category:Hanukkah foods Category:Turkish desserts Category:Pontic Greek cuisine Category:Sudanese cuisine