Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Alouda
A cold, milky Mauritian drink thick with basil seeds and jelly, scented with vanilla, the sweet cooler of Port Louis market stalls.
Mauritian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 5 min
~288 cal · 11g protein · 37g carbs · 11g fat · 0g fiber · 37g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Alouda is a Mauritian milk drink of Indian origin, milk flavored with almond or vanilla, sweetened, and studded with soaked basil (tukmaria) seeds and agar jelly, served ice-cold. A cousin of Indian falooda, it is a street refresher of Port Louis.
The basil seeds swell into soft, tapioca-like beads that give the drink its signature texture, while the jelly and cold milk make it rich and cooling.
Sold from street stalls in the capital, alouda is a drink Mauritians of every community grow up on, creamy, textured, and cold.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 cups cold milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp basil (tukmaria) seeds
1 cup agar agar jelly, set firm
1 tbsp sugar, to taste
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
1
Soak the basil seeds in a cup of water for 15 minutes until swollen and gelatinous, then drain.
2
Whisk the condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla into the cold milk until smooth.
3
Grate the set agar agar jelly on the coarse side of a box grater into soft threads.
✎ Chef’s note
Grating rather than cubing is what gives alouda its signature texture; the threads drift through the milk instead of sinking as blocks.
4
Divide the basil seeds and grated jelly among tall glasses, pour over the sweet milk, add ice, and serve with a wide straw.
Port Louis market tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Port Louis. Port Louis is a Creole crossroads, where Indian, Chinese, African, and French cooking meet. Dholl puri, a soft split-pea flatbread rolled around bean curry and chili, outsells everything on the street, alongside rougaille tomato stews and octopus curry.
🗺️
Mauritius. Mauritian cuisine is a true melting pot, fusing Indian, Creole, Chinese, and French flavors into curries, rougaille tomato stews, and street-food dholl puri. Chili, coriander, and island produce define its vibrant plate.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Mauritius
Dholl PuriFeather-soft flatbreads with ground split peas hidden in the dough, folded around bean curry and chutney.
RougailleA Creole tomato stew of Mauritius, simmered with thyme, ginger, and curry leaf around fish or sausage.
Farata with Butter Bean CurryFlaky griddled flatbread (farata) served with a light butter-bean curry, a popular Mauritian breakfast.
Browse all Mauritius recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Mauritius meal
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NapolitaineDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Alouda?
A cold, milky Mauritian drink thick with basil seeds and jelly, scented with vanilla, the sweet cooler of Port Louis market stalls.
Where does Alouda come from?
Alouda is a Mauritian dish from Port Louis, Mauritius.
Can Alouda be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Alouda recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Alouda safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Alouda take to make?
About 25 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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