## 1 Introduction  
Chickpeas are a healthy and sustainable food source that could be processed into an interesting multifunctional ingredient to be used in different types of food applications. Several studies have shown that suspended desi and kabuli chickpea flows showed viscosifying potential upon heating. It was reported that cultivar, thermal conditions, cell intritness, and starch state all significantly influenced the rheological properties of these chickpea flows in aqueous systems, using both hot and cold swelling treatments [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6]. However, these studies were carried out using simple water-flour suspensions. When chickpea flour would be added in a food application, other food ingredients would be present that may influence the thickening capacity of the chickpea flours. Lipids, for example, can coat starch granules and therefore reduce the viscosifying properties of starch due to a limitation in water uptake [7]. Additionally, cell wall material is reported to reduce the viscosifying properties of rice flour, whereas in cow pea flour it resulted in an increased viscosifying potential [8; 9; 10]. Instant soup is a typical semi-liquid food application which contains relatively high amounts of starch. It is a popular food in modern society, due to its minimal preparation time, relatively long shelf-life, and its light weight, which makes it easy to transport [11; 12]. To improve the nutritional profile of instant soups, legume and vegetable powders could be added [12]. As commercially available instant soups often contain substantial amounts of isolated potato or corn starch, a replacement of the starch with chickpea flour could improve the nutritional value of the product. Chickpea flours are, for example, rich in the essential amino acids leucine, lysine, and phenyl alanine, and the non-essential amino acids glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and arginine, but lack high amounts of sulphur containing amino acids methionine and cysteine [13]. Therefore, they could be an excellent addition to a grain based diet, which is higher in sulphur containing amino acids but low in lysine, to meet the daily amino acid requirements [13; 14]. Moreover, chickpeas are an important source of vitamins and minerals. They generally contain calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc [14]. Chickpeas mainly contain water-soluble vitamins (e.g., folic acid (B9), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), and vitamin C). Furthermore, \(\gamma\)tocopherol and \(\alpha\)-tocopherol (vitamin E), vitamin A, and vitamin K are present in chickpeas [13; 14]. However, thus far, research on the behaviour of chickpea flours as a thickening agent in (semi-)liquid food products is scarce. A benefit of industrially used starches is that they often do not largely affect the flavour of food products when added in low concentrations [15]. The addition of chickpea flour on the other hand, could possibly influence sensory properties such as the colour, aroma, and flavour, apart from the desired viscosity changes. Limited research on the volatile profile of raw and roasted chickpea flours, as well as soaked, germinated, cooked, and sterilised whole chickpeas has been reported. These studies indicate that processing methods influences the volatile profile of chickpeas [16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21]. However, the odour threshold and concentration of the volatiles in chickpea flour, as well as interactions of the volatiles with each other and with other food ingredients such as proteins, starch, and lipids, determine the final perception of the aroma and flavour of chickpea-flour-containing products [22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27]. In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the potential of chickpea flours with different microstructures as a replacement of potato starch in an industrially relevant instant soup recipe. Dry instant soup powders and prepared liquid instant soups were analysed, including the characterisation of bulk density, particle size distribution, microstructure, and the rheological behaviour of powders and soups.