one of my fav nyc restaurants, jimmy armstrong's saloon (now defunct), used to make a savory rice that i loved. after a few attempts, i've been able to reproduce it at home. they used spanish rice, but like you, i'm trying to switch to whole grains so i've subbed brown rice which works pretty well. here's my recipe.
1 tbsp lawry's seasoned salt
4 bay leaves
3 cloves
5 black peppercorns, crushed
1 cup brown rice
2 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup freshly steamed peas
in a wide saucepan that has a good covering lid, add the water and the bay leaves, cloves, and black peppercorns. bring to a boil, then turn the heat off and let it cool. add the brown rice, and let it soak for at least an hour, then add the rice and seasoned salt. bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover tightly. let cook until all of the water is absorbed. plate and top with the freshly steamed peas.
a few variations on this are to add minced browned garlic or garlic powder, a few crushed berries of allspice, and a 1/3 cup of browned onions.