To me when you say "traditional cooking", it means cooking food for the soul, not just for the palate. The cooks of yore somehow knew about nutrition pat down where the food became the medicine - definitely not the other way around like today! The "medicinal herbs" were the regular food and people ate nourishing ingredients.

Vallarai in Tamil - Brahmi a.k.a Pennywort in Hindi/English is a remarkable herb that has the potential to cure many diseases when taken regularly. A blood purifier, it improves immunity and provides many anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. I am not good at recognising greens and it took my mom's visit to local Farmer's market to recognise this goldmine.

This simple traditional chutney is my mom's recipe and that uses simple ingredients. It's also quite quick to make. The bitter greens take time getting used to and so if you are just starting it, adjust the greens accordingly. Start out with a little leaves and then increase it as you go. Or you could start out with this recipe for Vallarai Keerai Kootu ( Dal recipe with Pennywort/Brahmi leaves)  and take it from there.