food & grocery: Frugal Friday at Curry Up - many delicious dishes fit $5 limit

Pani Puri (Mary Bilyeu | Contributor)

My friend Ingrid Ault had been watching Curry Up, on Nixon Road, as zealously as I had, waiting desperately for this new restaurant, which serves Indian street food, to open.

Well, apparently so had much of the city. Each time I go by now, and when Ingrid and I shared a fabulous dinner there recently, the place has been filled with diners and also busy with take-out customers. And with good reason: The service is friendly, and the food is exceptional!

There were many options that meet our mandatory $5 per person budget, so it was really hard to choose what to try first. We scoped out what others were eating, and Ingrid approached one group to find out what they'd ordered, seeking guidance to help narrow down the options. Before they left, they also came to visit our table and noted our recommendations. The atmosphere in this small restaurant was very warm, welcoming, and convivial.

Vada and Sambhar — "Lentil Dumplings served with CURRY UP Sambhar" (Mary Bilyeu | Contributor)

Ultimately, Ingrid ordered the Pani Puri, pictured above, for $4.79. These are described simply as "Hollow puris filled with Potatoes & Spicy Tangy Water," a woefully inadequate synopsis for a dish with so much flavor. The crisp puri — the small spheres — are light, and let the flavor of the filling come through distinctly. The tangy water — which you drizzle into the center of the puri — is tamarind-based, and there are two different dipping sauces for creating even more complex flavor combinations. Eight puris make a great meal for one or a snack for two.

I ordered the Vada and Sambhar —  "Lentil Dumplings served with CURRY UP Sambhar" —  for $4.99. I love this dish and have even bought inferior frozen varieties at times, just to have a stash on hand for when cravings strike. The dumplings are somewhat reminiscent of dense, savory doughnuts; the sauce is spicy, but not too hot. It's simple comfort food.

Mysore Masala dosa (Mary Bilyeu | Contributor)

Ingrid also ordered the Mysore Masala dosa, a "Crepe Layered Inside with Onion & Coconut Chutneys." To say that the dosa was enormous is quite the understatement! At $7.99, this is a great deal to split with a loved one; even the heartiest appetite couldn't finish it alone. The crepe is stuffed, adding to its substance; and it is also served with the Sambhar sauce, in addition to the listed chutneys.

My other choice was the samosas, two for $2.49: "Deep Fried Pastry stuffed with Potatoes & Peas." These are very large — the size of a tennis ball — and generously filled. The samosas are expertly fried, very crisp but not at all greasy. You'll want to share because they're so good, but you'll also be tempted to savor them both yourself, for the very same reason.

Samosas (Mary Bilyeu | Contributor)

There are lots of dishes that cost $5 or less as a whole, as well as others that are easily split to come in under our $5 per person budget. Many, many dishes are vegetarian; those that aren't are made with Halal chicken. Snacks, such as pappadam are available; and you can also find substantial items like wraps and sandwiches, as well as beverages and entrees.

Ingrid and I had enjoyed our meal immensely, so leftovers were fairly scarce. But we did have a lot of the sauces left, which I hated to waste. I asked if I could have small take-out containers for them, so that I could put them to good use at home. Whereas I was once — at a different restaurant — treated as a bit of a kook for this behavior, the staff at Curry Up was more than happy to help me pack things up. (See this coming Wednesday's AnnArbor.com post for the chickpea dish I made with the Sambhar sauce.)

Curry Up is a most welcome addition to the Plymouth Road corridor, offering great food, friendly service, and excellent prices!

Curry Up
2711 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
734-418-3175

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Mary Bilyeu writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen - making dinner, celebrating holidays, entering cooking contests, meeting new friends ... whatever strikes her fancy. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — where she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related; and look for her monthly articles in the Washtenaw Jewish News. "Like" her on Facebook, or send a tweet on Twitter, too.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.