Coxinhas (Brazilian Chicken croquettes)

I came upon this recipe in Olivia's Cuisine for my Brazilian Food week in November 2017. It is a wonderfully delicious snack which can be used as main dish for dinner too and which it was for me! Recipe here: http://www.oliviascuisine.com/the-world-cup-gourmet-series-brazil-coxinhas-chicken-croquettes/

Makes: 30 

Ingredients

For the Filling

• 1.5 lbs chicken
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning (Recipe below)
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1 package of cream cheese (I used substitute - given below)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Dough

• 1 large potato
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cube of chicken bouillon
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Bowl of almost freezing water
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

• Pressure cook the chicken and potato with 1 chicken cube. After pressure is released, drain and reserve 2 1/2 cups broth for the dough.
• Mash the potato and reserve.
• Shred the chicken in a food processor or blender and reserve.
• Add the broth to a pan with the mashed potato and butter. Bring to a boil and add the flour, little at a time, stirring constantly till it forms a dough. Turn off heat.
• Knead the dough while it is still warm until smooth.
• To make the filling, sauté the onions and garlic until translucent and the add the chicken, poultry seasoning and the parsley. Mix everything together and season with salt and pepper. Add the cream cheese and cook until the cream cheese is melted and everything is incorporated.
• To make the coxinhas, take a little piece of the dough and form a ping pong sized ball. Flatten it into a disc, hollowing up the middle for the filling. 
• Spoon a tablespoon of the filling into the middle of dough.
• Press the dough closed around the filling, shaping it like a teardrop.
• To coat the coxinhas with breadcrumbs, first wet one of your hands with cold water and pass it on the coxinha. Then, coat the coxinha with breadcrumbs. Set it aside in a baking sheet and continue to coat all the coxinhas.
• Heat oil in a saucepan and fry them in batches till they are golden brown.
• Place them on kitchen tissues and serve with hot sauce.

Note:

Recipe for Poultry Seasoning:

• 2 tsp ground sage
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp ground marjoram
• 3/4 tsp ground rosemary
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
• Mix thoroughly and store in airtight container

Substitute for cream cheese:

Strain yoghurt overnight in cheesecloth and use as substitute for cream cheese.