Add oil in a non-stick frying pan and heat over medium flame. Once the oil is sufficiently hot, add onions and stir till they become light pink.
Make sure that you are stirring continuously else the onions might stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the onions turn slightly translucent, add in all the whole spices, along with the vegetables.
Stir the ingredients well and cook (covered with 1/4 cup water) until the hardest vegetable (in this case carrots) is slightly tender. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Make sure that the flame is on low-moderate flame.
After 5-8 minutes, give it a check. If the vegetables have been cooked nicely, add sprouts and soya and stir for 2-3 minutes on moderate flame. Once this is done, add the drained brown rice, with salt and chilli powder.
Add any other favourite masalas at this point. Stir till the rice starts forming clumps.
Then, add 2 cups of water and bring the whole pot to a boil. After the first boil, simmer and cook covered, till the rice is cooked (usually around 8 minutes).
Turn off the heat and transfer vegetable pulao in a serving bowl. Serve hot with boondi or cucumber raita.