the pastry is traditionally made of potato and flour, although there are cassava and sweet potato alternatives - side by side with the coxinha, one can always find a wide assortment of pasteis, or pastels.
these can be savoury or sweet, and filled with many traditional, weird, and wonderfully inventive fillings, such as heart of palm - some of the more conventional and delicious fillings include, cheese, ham, minced meat, prawn and squid.
there are various theories about the origin of these pastries, some believing them to have migrated from europe, and others claim that they are descendants of the chinese spring roll.
the flavorful cheese bread called păo de queijo originates in the brazilian state of minas gerais during portuguese colonization when masters were customarily served their daily bread and coffee - african slaves prepared the păo de queijo with the a very specific cheese from the region called 'queijo minas', and tapioca, or cassava flour, instead of wheat flour because it did not yield well in the tropical heat of the region.
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