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 (لُقْمَةُ ٱلْقَاضِيِ), "judge's morsels".

The Arabic word luqma (لُقْمَةٌ) (plural luqmāt), means morsel, mouthful, or bite. The dish was known as luqmat al-qādi (لُقْمَةُ ٱلْقَاضِيِ) or "judge's morsels" in 13th-century Arabic cookery books, and the word luqma or loqma by itself has come to refer to it. The Turkish name for the dish, lokma, is derived from the Arabic, as is the Greek name loukoumádes (λουκουμάδες).

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. 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.

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.

Traditionally, the batter was leavened with yeast but modern variations sometimes use baking powder.

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, 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. 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.

The pastry is called loukoumádes (λουκουμάδες) and lokmádes (λοκμάδες) in Cypriot Greek. They are commonly served spiced with cinnamon in a honey syrup and can be sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar.

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.