Tamarind is one of the most popular flavors of agua fresca, the non-alcoholic beverage sold by street vendors in Mexico and Central America. I’ve added a touch of honey and some cinnamon and turned this basic formula into a granita for the perfect dessert at your next barbecue. To make an even simpler sweet, pour the mixture into ice-pop molds.

Steps

1. Combine the wet tamarind and ⅔ cup hot water and let stand for 10 minutes. Massage the pulp, separating the seeds, veins, and tough membranes. Pour the mixture through a sieve, using a spoon to push down and extract as much as pulp as you can. You will get about ⅓ cup tamarind pulp.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water, the sugar, and the honey to a gentle boil over medium heat. Boil until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the tamarind pulp, whisk in the cinnamon, and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool.
3. Pour the tamarind mixture into a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan, cover, and place in the freezer. After one hour, or when the mixture starts to crystallize, take the pan out and scrape the mixture with a fork. Return to the freezer, scraping every 30 minutes until the granita is granular but still slightly slushy, about 2 more hours. (If you forget and the mixture hardens and forms a solid block of ice, take it out of the freezer until it melts and becomes scrapable again.)
4. To serve, scoop the granita out with an ice-cream scoop and mound in glasses rimmed with cinnamon.