Cucumber and Moringa Agua Fresca
I made this Cucumber and Moringa Agua Fresca today because of a chance encounter with Chef Ted Mariano Kelly at the Tamox Talom Summer Solstice Festival last month. I purchased the herb from Chef Kelly who was a vendor at the festival. He grows the Indian herb, moringa, at his farm, Viridian, in San Antonio. Moringa is actually not an herb but an Indian tree.
Although moringa isn’t an ingredient in Texas Mexican cooking, it is popular in some Mexican regions. I recently began to include it in some of my dishes because I like its nutritional benefits—especially for stomach health—and also for its tart, fresh taste that adds a pleasant zing.
This cucumber and moringa agua fresca has a unique herbal base, sweetened with honey, that makes a delicious, refreshing drink. I make a big batch and keep it in the fridge as the alternative to iced tea.
Moringa’s Trip to Mexico in 1500s
There is broad consensus among historians that moringa arrived in Mexico between the late 1500s and early 1600s, brought from the Philippines to Acapulco via the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade. It first took root along the Pacific coast, particularly in Guerrero and Oaxaca, and today is incorporated into Mexican dishes like soups, stews (guisados), tamales, and tortillas, often using the fresh leaves as a nutritious green similar to spinach or quelites. It still has not found its way into the professional Texas Mexican American kitchens, although central and southern Mexico, have long used moringa.
A 2021 study published in Food Frontiers found that rural women in Agua Caliente Nueva, Jalisco—who are the primary food preparers in their households—have long incorporated fresh moringa leaves into everyday cooking, drawing on regional culinary traditions similar to those used for quelites. The study documents several common uses of moringa in local dishes, including quesadillas made with fresh moringa leaflets, soups and stews (guisados) enriched with the leaves, and corn tortillas blended with shredded moringa to boost their nutritional value.
So moringa is quietly rooted in parts of Mexico, even if it hasn’t gone mainstream in Texas Mexican food. I wonder if my own love for moringa—and the fact that it’s starting to show up more often in grocery stores and community gardens—might help it find its way into enchiladas and other classic dishes here, as it has done in Jalisco. I may try combining it with mesquite, stay tuned.
Recipe for Cucumber and Moringa Agua Fresca
Ingredients (makes 6 cups)
2 cups cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh moringa leaves, tightly packed (or 1 Tbs moringa powder )
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
6-8 fresh mint leaves
4 cups cold water
4 Tbs honey or to taste
Method|
1. Blend cucumber, moringa, lime juice and mint, until smooth.
2. Add 4 cups water and blend well.
3. Place in the refrigerator for one hour or overnight for the flavors to blend together.
To serve, stir well to recombine all the ingredients and pour over ice in tall glasses.
REFERENCES:
Chiu, Brenda C., Michael E. Olson, and John W. Fahey. “Exploring the Use of Moringa oleifera as a Vegetable in Agua Caliente Nueva, Jalisco, Mexico: A Qualitative Study.” Food Frontiers 2, no. 3 (2021): 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.103.
Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Before Columbus: Exploration and Colonization from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, 1229–1492 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987). Jed W. Fahey, “Moringa oleifera: A Review of the Medical Evidence for Its Nutritional, Therapeutic, and Prophylactic Properties. Part 1,” Trees for Life Journal 1, no. 5 (2005), https://www.tfljournal.org/article.php/20051201124931586.”