1. Uncover curry base recipe. Use it as a vague reference, but abandon immediately.
2. Begin by sautee-ing onion, garlic, ginger in pot. I threw in a handful of fresh cilantro because I have a ridiculous amount that needs to be used up. Instead of "can of stewed tomatoes," I like to use fresh tomatoes--today's pick was five plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped.
3. Pour in a can of coconut milk after everything's nice and soft, a heap of curry powder (I used about 3 tablespoons worth), an enormous spoon of canned tomato puree (instead of tomato sauce, which I did not have), and a gentle sprinkle of sugar to balance out the sourness of the puree.
4. Bring to simmer. Now add meat or veggies of choice. Mine: chicken, eggplant, potato, okra.
5. Simmer for ages and ages until entire apartment smells heavenly (and until everything's cooked). Take unflattering and hurried picture because of hunger and NOMNOM immediately.
There you go! Evelyn's guide to absolutely delicious curry with surprisingly little hassle, much customization allowed, and almost infinite room for error.