Doughnuts come in different shapes and sizes all around the world and one of the most popular doughnut-like variations in Turkey and the middle east is lokma. In this post, we’ll share the traditional lokma recipe and teach you everything there is to know about this Arabic-Turkish dessert, including its origins, history, variations, and much more.
But first things first…
What Is Lokma?
Lokma is basically a deep-fried sweet dough dipped in sherbet (liquid sugar syrup). It’s a popular street food snack that’s usually eaten as a dessert or as a snack alongside a cup of Turkish coffee. In addition to sherbet, you can also top your lokma with chocolate sauce, cinnamon, or honey, as well as sesame or grated walnuts/pistachios. Lokma is typically fried in batches and served on special occasions.
Origins & History
Many people think that the lokma is a Turkish dessert but actually the origins of lokma can be traced to the Arabian Peninsula. The dessert was first mentioned in a 13th-century Arabic cookbook but after the Ottomans conquered Arabia, they popularized the lokma recipe in other parts of their empire like Asia Minor and the Balkans.
The name lokma derives from the Arabic word lugma, meaning mouthful, bite, or morsel. In the Middle Ages, Arabs often referred to this dessert as “lugmat al-Gadi” (judge’s morsels). The Turkish name (lokma) and the Greek name (loukoumades) derive from the dessert’s original Arabic name. A couple of other facts that support this theory are the mentions of lugmat al-Gadi in medieval Arabic literature, more specifically in the collection of Arabic folklore tales One Thousand and One Nights, as well as the diary of Medieval explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta, who discovered a similar dessert during his travels in medieval India, known as “al-Hashimi”.
Since medieval times, lokma has always been prepared in large batches and served to large groups of people at special occasions, such as weddings, circumcision ceremonies, moving in parties, and even funerals. In more recent times, lokma has developed a reputation as a summer treat and you can often find street vendors selling lokma at the beaches across the Eastern Mediterranean.
Variations
From the Arabic Peninsula, the lokma recipe made its way to Ottoman palaces, the Caucasus, and even the Balkans. And as it was becoming more and more popular, a handful of regional variations of lokma started appearing. That’s why today, we can distinguish between an Arabic luqaymat, a Turkish lokma, and Greek loukoumades.
The Arabic lokma recipe is the closest to the original authentic recipe. The size of the doughnut is usually about the size of a golf ball, it’s prepared in a large frying pan, and is usually served for religious holidays, like Ramadan. Depending on the region, you can also find this sweet under other names, like awameh (عوامة) or zalabya (زلابيا).
Greek loukoumades are usually made by Greek Jews who traditionally prepare loukoumades for Hanukkah. The recipe was likely brought to today’s territory of Greece by Pontic Greeks who migrated from Anatolia around the Lausanne Conference.
Lastly, we have Turkish lokma which is probably the most popular variation of the three. The standard Turkish lokma is not very different than the Greek and Arabic variations; it’s made with flour, yeast, sugar, and salt, deep-fried, and covered in sweet syrup. However, throughout the years, Turkish people have come up with different variations of this delicious dessert.
For example, the lokma in Izmir (Izmir lokmasi) is made with a hole in the middle, in Ankara, there’s a dessert that’s very similar to lokma and locals call it bırtlak, while in many parts of Turkey, a different spherical lokma known as Palace lokma (Saray lokmasi) is also very popular. Lastly, there’s even a lokma mixed with cheese known as peynir lokmasi that’s very popular in the Aegean region.
Preparation Tips
- The dough mentioned in this lokma recipe is very light but if you would like your lokma to be firmer and crunchier, don’t use any eggs, and use roughly 90-100 ml of milk less.
- Your lokmas can still be crunchy with this recipe too, though. All you have to do I double-fry your cookies at a slightly lower than deep-fry temperature or just by frying the cookies a couple of minutes longer.
- The secret to making the perfect lokma is to continuously pour hot oil (using a spoon or other utensils) over the dough ball until it puffs up. This way, your dough balls will be crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside which is exactly how a perfect lokma should be.
- For a rich color, you can add a little bit of Safflower (Turkish saffron) to the milk when heating up the yeast.
- To create the lokma balls, grab a spoon in your dominant hand, dip it into oil and let the excess fall off. With your other hand grab some dough and close your hand around it, creating a fist shape. This way, you can squeeze the dough out through the hole between your index finger and your thumb and cut the dough away before dropping it into the hot oil.
- Don’t add too many cookies inside the frying pan. There should be a little bit of space in between to allow the lokmas to move and cook well.
- The longer you keep your lokmas in the syrup, the sweeter and softer they will be. Obviously, this is a personal preference; if you want your lokmas to be softer, keep them in the syrup longer, if you want them to be crunchier, don’t let them stay in the syrup or use less syrup.
Serving
Before serving, lokma is bathed in sweet syrup. Some people also like to add some cinnamon, cardamom, or powdered sugar but this is a matter of preference. Even though primarily dessert, lokma is a very versatile sweet- you can find it being sold among street food vendors on the streets of Turkey or even on the beaches. Many people also like to eat lokma alongside a cup of Turkish tea, Turkish coffee or Turkish boza.
Are you a fan of Turkish desserts? Then you may also enjoy some of our other recipes, such as:
A Few Things You May Need
Mixer
Saucepan
Spatula
Mixing Bowls
Rolling Pin
Pastry Cutters
Did you ever try lokma? How did you like our lokma recipe? If you tried to make it at home, don’t forget to leave us a rating and if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.
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