ડુંગળીમાં એલચીનો સા આવે નહીં.

ḍuṁgaḷīmāṁ ēlacīnō sā āvē nahīṁ.

Literally: In an onion, the scent of cardamom does not come.
What it means: You cannot expect high quality from something inherently low-grade.

Also said as

ગુજરાતી કહેવતસંગ્રહ (Gujarati Kahevat Sangrah) (1923) ગુજરાતી કહેવતસંગ્રહ (Gujarati Kahevat Sangrah) (1921) · read from the scan by machine — the Gujarati itself is unchecked · English is machine-made and nobody has checked it yet

Heard it differently, or know we've got the sense wrong? Tell us — that is exactly the kind of correction this needs.